Dragonball Transension: Krysis Saga
by SwordofGeddon
Summary: A year after Tlama is defeated Future Trunks returns. The nature of time itself is changing. Amid this mystery, a time of war descends on the Earth as a mysterious new group of foes appear.  Please feel free to read and review.
1. A Change in Time

Time itself is changing. Those were the words spoken by his son from an alternate timeline. At once the words of his injured son concerned and raised his curiosity as Vegeta carried the young man with long straight lavender hair inside to tend to his wounds and shelter him from the rain.

Vegeta walked into the automatic door and walked into the family room, placing the injured young man on the largest couch. The room was large and full of comfortable looking furniture, with a light brown rug underneath the green couches and chairs.

Future Trunks looked up at his father, noticing a few differences between him and the Vegeta he remembered from the days fighting against Cell. Vegeta's hair seemed to have a hint of grey, the only signs of outward aging Trunks could see, while the Saiyan armor Vegeta now wore was different from the blue armor Trunks remembered, being black and sleeveless.

Vegeta looked over his son, other than what he could tell was a light concussion Trunks looked otherwise unharmed, if a little disorientated.

"So what do you mean time is changing?" Vegeta asked after afew minutes.

Trunks looked tense but he nevertheless answered.

"Before my ship went crazy and I ordered an emergency exit of timespace, my computer said that the nature of the timestream was changing. Between that and that object that passed me, it was more than my ship could handle and I was knocked off coarse, that was when you found me father." Future Trunks said, his voice still weak from his ordeal.

"Off coarse?" Vegeta asked

"Yes I meant to visit you and everyone else in this timeline again years ago, to you it has been decades since you saw me hasn't it?" Trunks asked, a bit of strength returning to his voice.

"The last time I saw you was back during that whole business with Bodack, so its been almost twenty-five years now." Vegeta said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

"For me it has only been three years. Because of that incident in timespace I've arrived much later than I was planning on. I'm so sorry father." Future Trunks said with genuine sadness in his voice.

"I'm seeing you now, that is what is important." Vegeta said with a smile.

Future Trunks could hardly believe how much Vegeta had changed, but then again the Vegeta he was seeing was twenty-five years older.

"How is the time machine?" Future Trunks asked, dreading the answer.

"It was completely totaled when I found you." Vegeta said

"Looks like I'll be here a wile, where is mother?" Future Trunks asked

Vegeta knew that question was coming, but he answered anyway.

"She is with my son going over blueprints for a new space ship design." Vegeta answered

"Your son? Oh I nearly forgot, the Trunks of this timeline. He must be in his twenties by now, older than me. Last time I saw him he was still a baby, how bizarre." Future Trunks said

"So you meant to visit long ago, but some sort of temporal..incident is why you arrived so late?" Vegeta said, returning the conversation to it's original topic.

"Yes, I will need to run a temporal analysis if I'm going to get home, and that is only if I get my ship repaired if that is possible." Future Trunks said

"I'm sure your mother can work something out." Vegeta said

In another part of the large home of the Briefs, Bulma and the other Trunks sat in front of a large computer monitor, the blueprints for what looked like a boomerang-shaped spaceship design on the monitor's screen.

"I'm telling you mother, an aerodynamic design is much more versatile and practical than the octopus-looking shape of your last spaceship design." Trunks said, wearing his orange scarf and light brown jacket and shorts.

"It was a good enough design to get you, Goku and Pan around the galaxy when you were hunting down those black star dragonballs!" Bulma said with a bit of annoyance in her voice. Bulma was wearing a red dress and earrings, her blue hair cut short.

Trunks shrugged.

"It was good and it did what it was supposed to, but we have to be thinking more economical if Capsule Corporation is going to compete with other companies for military contracts." Trunks said.

"My father would roll in his grave if he knew the company he started was building weapons of war." Bulma said.

Trunks rolled his eyes at his mother's stubbornness

"Look mother, our company is no longer number one. We revolutionized the world with our advances in capsule technology and robotics, but other companies are producing their own capsules and robots, we have to be flexible in order to survive." Trunks said

"Trunks, your smart for wanting to take advantage of the war. The king's death a year ago has caused many of the rogue nations to take up arms and revolt against the royal government. This conflict could last awhile. But smart does not mean ethical. Building weapons is not the same as fighting guys like Maijin Buu or Tlama." Bulma said with a strong tone.

"Mother remember how after you and sister were brought back, how a lot of the King's opponents called for his removal. Tlama was just the last in a long line of incidents, after so many a lot of people lost trust in the king, that was why he was killed. We need to build weapons for the countries still loyal to the world government. The world will fall back into chaos if the nationalists win the war, much like things were two hundred years ago." Trunks said

Suddenly the intense conversation was interrupted when the sound of an opening door was heard behind Trunks and Bulma.

"Bulma, we have a problem." Vegeta said, walking into the room.

"Vegeta can it wait?" Bulma asked with an annoyed tone.

"Someone is in a bad mood. Listen woman..it is important, now please come with me." Vegeta said.

"It better be Vegeta." Bulma said as she got up out her seat and followed Vegeta out of the room.

"I wonder what this is about?" Trunks wondered aloud, deciding to follow his parents.

What Bulma saw upon their arrival to the family room of the house nearly made her feint with surprise

"Trunks..how?" Bulma said, rushing towards her long lost other son.

"I was coming to see you for what to you was twenty-two years ago, but on my way here something went horribly wrong with the timestream, and I was knocked off-coarse, landing here, years off from my planned destination." Future Trunks said.

"Who are you? What do you think your doing here?" Trunks asked, anger filling him as he saw his counterpart from the other timeline.

"You could consider me your brother, but technically I'm you from another timeline. I'm not surprised you don't remember me Trunks, but we met before, when you were just a baby." Future Trunks said with a friendly smile.

"Oh I know who you are." Trunks said as his anger grew.

"Trunks why are you acting like this?" Vegeta asked

"You know why father. While he is here, I'm going to be elsewhere, got it?" Trunks said angrily before running out of the room.

"Did I do something wrong?" Future Trunks asked

"No, my son has always felt that he grew up in your shadow. He should be fine Trunks." Bulma said

"Mother if you could help me, I would appreciate it. I need to find out what happened to the timestream, without that information I can't return home, even if I did have a time machine." Future Trunks said.

"I repaired and rebuilt the time machine Cell came here in, I've also been adding a few things to it over the years. So you should have a clear way home, but what you say about the timestream does concern me. We should look into that immediately." Bulma said.

"I'll go with you two." Vegeta said

Somewhere above West City Trunks flew in the midst of the rain.

"The other Trunks, why did he have to return?" Trunks said aloud, thinking back.

Trunks remembered a couple years after Buu was defeated, he decided at the age of ten to stop training, giving up fighting to one day follow in his mother's footsteps. The mere idea of that did not suit well with his father.

Trunks remembered his father always saying "Why can't you be like the Trunks from the future.", or "You have that sword from Tapion, but you never use it, the other Trunks would show you a thing or two about swordsmenship."

When Trunks was fifteen, Vegeta started to make him fight again by withholding allowance unless he fought or trained. When Trunks was a young child he loved fighting, he wanted to be like his father, but at fifteen being forced to fight and train, Trunks hated it for a time.

Even during the Grand Tour, Trunks had to be forced to go on that trip, his distaste for fighting still present well into his twenties. Although Trunks readily fought against foes like Baby, Omega or Tlama, and his old love for fighting had returned, the shadow of the other Trunks still hovered over him.

Trunks was going to continue to fly onward for awile longer, but the sight of a copper-armored figure flying past him and landing on a grassy plain somewhere outside the city made him change his mind, and Trunks decided to follow the armored mystery man.

Back in the Briefs residence...

Future Trunks now sat on the couch, his strength had returned enough to allow him to walk and sit. Bulma had offered to remove the blue capsule corporation jacket, but Future Trunks had refused.

Future Trunks turned towards Vegeta.

"So father...what has happened since the last time I saw you and the others." Future Trunks gathered the courage to ask.

"Six years after you last left us, we battled a creature named Maijin Buu. Then shortly after that creature had been defeated, a giant demon named Hirudegarn appeared, my Trunks still has the sword the alien warrior Tapion left him after that battle was over. We fought alot of other opponents after that, but Omega Shenron's defeat cost us Kakorot." Vegeta said with a hint of sadness.

"Did Goku end up dying?" Future Trunks asked.

"No, he left with the eternal dragon of earth for an unknown destination. Even after two and a half years now, there still has been no sign of Kakorot." Vegeta said.

"Even though the Earth has been threatened he still has not returned?" Future Trunks asked.

"Maybe he wants others to take up the mantle of protecting this planet, we did manage without him during the last great incident, Gohan managed to surprise even me." Vegeta said

"Trunks I have something ready that will allow us to see into the timestream." Bulma yelled from a nearby room.

Even after all these years living with Bulma, Vegeta still found it amazing how many rooms of the house were dedicated to Bulma's research.

Future Trunks walked into the small dimly lit room, seeing a monitor with what looked like a silver river on the screen.

"Mother what is that?" Future Trunks said with a growing feeling of fear as he approached the screen for a closer inspection.

"It's the timestream." Bulma said

"This is..this is all wrong. Time is supposed to be like an ocean with many destinations, that is why time travel occurs between different alternate universes." Future Trunks said

"So if what your saying is true, that must mean time is now a sequence of logical events leading from the past to the future." Vegeta said

"That would mean your timeline no longer exists, except for you." Bulma said

"This..this can't be!" Future Trunks said in shock.

Meanwhile, outside of West City..

Trunks adjusted his orange scarf as he looked around for the copper armored figure he spotted from the air. Trunks took afew steps forward towards a grassy hill, when a voice spoke behind him, causing the half-saiyan to turn and see the very being he was looking for.

"Trunks Briefs I presume. My designation is Kilo, I am pleased to meet you." The figure said in a youthful, but hollow-sounding voice. The figure was his height, with copper armor from head to toe. Kilo's head resembled that of a medieval knight, but it was also sleek and futuristic in appearance.

"Who are you?" Trunks asked

"My designation is Kilo." Kilo repeated himself.

"I meant, where are you from, what are you." Trunks said with a hint of annoyance.

"That is classified. You will come with me Trunks. My mission was to apprehend you." Kilo said, his one mechanical red eye seemingly staring into Trunk's soul.

"He's not going anywhere with you." A deep and familiar voice said.

"Piccolo?" Trunks asked

"Who else would it be?" Piccolo said with a smile as his white cape swayed in the wind.

Kilo stared at Piccolo before speaking.

"Designation, Piccolo. Species, Namek. Threat Level Two. Piccolo will you impede my mission?" Kilo asked

"Here is my answer. Special..Beam..Cannon!" Piccolo yelled as he fired his orange spiral beam attack in Kilo's direction.

Trunks managed to get away from the ensuing explosion. However the smoke soon cleared to show an undamaged Kilo, his copper armor bearing not a scratch.

"I was not programmed to combat you in this instance Namek, but I am programmed to adjust as circumstances dictate." Kilo said with a warning tone.

"I think you'll find that I'm not someone you can reduce to statistics." Piccolo said with a smile.

Piccolo stood facing his mysterious opponent, the copper-clad robot known only as Kilo. Piccolo had fought mechanical opponents before, but they were androids, and partly organic. This enemy was completely a machine.

Years ago machine opponents proved a problem because one could not sense any sort of power level or presence from one. However over the years Piccolo had developed a technique which allowed him to sense non-organic foes, which was how he detected this Kilo in the first place.

"Whatever it is you want robot, I suggest you forget about it, unless you would like to deal with me." Piccolo said, getting into a fighting stance as he prepared to power up.

Piccolo knew that if the strength he detected from this machine was accurate, Kilo would be no match for Piccolo after he ascended to his maximum power. Hopefully Kilo was not hiding the bulk of his power.

"It is not logical to fight an opponent when your knowledge of said opponent is lacking. I suggest you refrain from violence." Kilo said, turning his head again towards Trunks.

"It isn't wise to take your eyes off your opponent!" Piccolo said, yelling as he began powering up to maximum.

"So you insist on violence. Very well." Kilo faced Piccolo, not moving an inch, but simply watching Piccolo as his strength grew.

In moments Piccolo completed his power up, and his body had an aura of blue electricity to show for it.

It had taken Piccolo years to regain his Super Namek powers, and almost three years in Hell to refine them further. Piccolo's strength at this level now rivaled Goku's Super Saiyan Three transformation when Goku first used it against Maijin Buu years ago. It was a feat that greatly impressed Piccolo, so he made it his goal to equal or even surpass that power. Earthly training had not been enough, but the ordeals Piccolo undertook in Hell had been.

"Why is it that the artificial lifeforms always underestimate me? I hope your prepared for the scrap heap." Piccolo said, then rushed forward.

Kilo simply blocked each of Piccolo's incredibly powerful punches or kicks. When that strategy did not seem to be working, Piccolo leapt backwards a short distance and pointed his right outstretched hand towards Kilo and yelled: "Masenko!"

An enormious blast of energy leapt from Piccolo's hand and went straight for his machine opponent.

Kilo fired his own blast in retaliation, a sphere of blue electricity. When the two attacks collided to Piccolo's horror his own attack was absorbed into Kilo's electricity sphere, causing it's size to double.

Piccolo quickly flew out of the way of the deadly attack, which then sailed off harmlessly into the sky.

After that, Kilo did something unexpected, and flew off into the distance. Either the machine wasn't equip or ready to deal with an aggressive opponent, or Kilo was a coward. Piccolo thought.

"Guess his mission did not include dealing with someone like me. Trunks you should get back home, if and when that thing returns, you will be safer with your family." Piccolo said as he allowed his power to go down to his normal level.

"I'm not the child you taught how to fuse anymore Piccolo, I'll be fine. Besides, my family already has a Trunks, why would they want the inferior version around?" Trunks said with evident emotional pain in his voice before flying off.

"Trunks wait!" Piccolo yelled, but it was too late, Trunks was long gone.

"So the other Trunks has returned. That might explain the presence I felt earlier." Piccolo said softly to himself.

Elsewhere in West City...

A group of businessmen sat around the conference table in the dimly lit room. All the black suited men's eyes were glued to a large spherical monitor at the front end of the rectangular room, one of the chamber's only sources of light. At the head of the table and next to the monitor was a thin man in his late twenties. The man had short white hair cut in a stylish position, as well as a white business suit in stark contrast to the other men in the room. The man was Gen Kato the second, president of Gentech after the forced removal of his younger brother, Bui Kato, after what was an embarrassing event for the company.

On the monitor images of war could be seen. The Royal Military with their tan-hued vehicles was in heavy combat with rogue national forces, which were black in color and larger in size as well as more fierce some in appearance.

"As you can see gentlemen, the weapons we designed for the Vanguard of Independent Nations are far superior to the rusting pieces of junk the Royal Military is still using. If all goes as planed, our side should emerge victorious in this war within the month." Gen said with a arrogant and satisfied tone.

"We should be set to be on top of the market for a very long time. It was a good move removing your brother, we not only recovered because of you Gen, but we are now higher in share value than Capsule Corporation, and they have been number one for decades." A short bald middle aged man said.

"When this war is over we will all be very rich men." A tall elderly gentleman said.

"You lack the ambition to see the full size of my plan gentlemen. It is in our best interests that this war go on for as long as possible. I imagine soon Capsule Corporation will dispense with it's long held idealism and begin designing weapons for the Royal Army. The war will escalate, eventually the so-called Z-fighters may attempt to disrupt our plans. That is why I have the perfect solution." Gen said with a smirk as he made a gesture towards the monitor.

The entire group of board of directors uttered a gasp of surprise at the image on the screen.

"I thought the Neo-Saiyan project was shut-down after that incident with your brother!". A mustached middle aged man with strong build and black hair said in anger, nearly standing as he yelled.

"Relax Johnson. My brother's implementation was an utter disaster, I am not denying it, but I have perfected the technique. In fact already five specially engineered Neo-Saiyans have been created and programmed to obey any orders I give them, on pain of death." Gen said

"And what if they go crazy and end up destroying our company?" The man called Johnson said, still objecting.

"I've already taken precautions for that. All five of the men who underwent the Neo-Saiyan process were all highly trained individuals who know how to follow orders. Just in case that isn't enough I've installed circuitry within their body which will cause them extreme pain if they disobey or fail to follow my orders." Gen said, trying to reassure the others in the room.

"And what will these Neo-Saiyan commandos you have created be doing that will help Gentech?" Johnson said, still not convinced.

"We will present them to the Vanguard of Independent Nations as Super-Soldiers if and when the Z-Fighters decide to make an appearance, I've also taken precautions to make certain the Z-Fighters show their true colors as the true enemy of the planet. Since the Z-fighters will likely ally with the Royal Military in this conflict, it will paint the ailing world government as a tyrannical force in the eyes of the public. The world will become less civilized as the world government completely collapses, and in the ensuing world full of conflict, we will be richer than you can imagine." Gen said

"It seems you have this all figured out." Johnson said with a barely disguised tone of cynicism.

"Trust me gentlemen, this path I am taking this company on is the path of greatness." Gen said with a slick smile.

Sometime later after the meeting was over in a back hall in the large corporate building Johnson stood with a troubled expression on his face, with a black cell phone in hand.

With trembling fingers Johnson managed to dial a number, almost immediately a voice was heard responding to the call.

"Hello Bui, you were right about your brother." Johnson said with a troubled tone.

"What is he doing?" Bui asked

"He is ruthless, far more than need be for an executive, and insane. He wants to force the war to go on for as long as possible, and then profit over the global chaos afterwards if the world government collapses." Johnson said franticly.

"I expected as much. Listen Johnson you need to get out of that building and to my location as soon as possible. You aren't safe there, they likely are monitoring transmissions sent from within the building." Bui said with concern in his voice.

"I will sir, thankyou." Johnson said and hung up the phone.

Johnson was about to turn and begin to make his way out of the building when he saw Gen along with a duo of copper-hued robots walking towards him. Gen had a smile on his face, Johnson knew it was not a friendly one.

"Johnson..Johnson..Johnson. I thought we were all team players here? Why Johnson, why have you betrayed me? I don't like traitors." Gen said with a condescending tone.

"Sir what are you talking about?" Johnson said, trying to play dumb.

"You know what happens to traitors correct Kilo-1703?" Gen said to the robot on his right.

"Traitors are terminated." The copper colored knight-like robot said.

"Your insane!" Johnson yelled.

"Actually no I'm not, I passed all of my mental health evaluations this month." Gen said with a smirk as he removed a strand of his hair out from in front of his eyes.

"You won't get away with this! I've already told your brother." Johnson said with a defiant tone.

"Kilo, I tire of his traitorous babbling, kill him now please." Gen said with a dismissive tone.

"As you command."

The Kilo on Gen's right quickly held out his right armored hand and fired a blue laser beam at Johnson just as the man attempted to run. After a brief scream all that was left of the former executive board member was a pile of ash.

As Gen turned to leave he said: "Its so hard to find good help these days."

Somewhere else, Bui stood on top of a white-colored skyscraper. He suddenly had a very bad feeling. Somehow instinctively, Bui knew Johnson did not make it out alive. The man had been like a father to him, the pain Bui felt was great, but he didn't waste any time grieving and immediately took off into the sky. His friends must know what was going on. They had to be alerted just how dangerous a person his brother was.

Just as Bui took flight, back in Gentech's hidden headquarters Gen Kaito was in a well lit room alone with the two Kilo robots, as well as two others...

The other figures resembled the Kilos, but their coloration was completely different. The robot standing nearest Gen was a gleaming silver in coloration, while the slightly larger robot behind the silver one was a vibrant gold. Both these machines shared the resemblance the Kilo's had to medival knights.

"I've stepped things up as you asked Giga." Gen said to the Gold robot.

"Excellent. Soon we will have Trunks Briefs in our possession, after which the ordering of all of time will be complete." Giga said in a deep commanding voice with an english accent.

"It seems our alliance was a wise move, you two accomplish your realignment of the timestream, while I get revenge for my great uncle, while getting rich and powerful in the process of coarse." Gen said with a satisfied tone.

"Yes history will remember you well." The Silver hued machine said, in a higher male voice which shared his gold counterpart's accent.

"I should hope so Mega. I'm starting a new era of conflict on earth, its far nicer than a world of peace don't you agree." Gen said

"Indeed. Conflict brings out improvement in all forms of life, no matter they biological or technological. Without conflict there is stagnation." Mega said


	2. Darkness Rising

Trunks flew over the wind swept plains, his thoughts of resentment towards the other Trunks continued. His destination was Mount Paozu, home of both Goten and his brother Gohan, as well as their family.

Trunks wanted to talk to both Gohan and Goten about this situation. Goten was like a brother to him, while Gohan knew the other Trunks, having fought alongside him years ago.

Nearby, Bui flew in the opposite direction. Bui still wore his white hair long. The young man wore a black shirt and blue jeans that both looked abit beat up. Before either could sense the other, the two nearly collided in midair.

"Trunks, I'm glad to see you. I have something urgent I have to talk to you and the others about." Bui said while breathing heavily from the shock of the near-collision.

"Come to Mt. Paozu, I'm sure Gohan and Goten would love to hear about it." Trunks said in a slighty irritated tone.

"Alright, we should get in touch with Vegeta as soon as possible though." Bui said as he followed Trunks as the two young men entered the mountainous region near Goku's historic home.

"We don't need my father." Trunks said flatly.

"He is the strongest on the planet why would you say something like that?" Bui asked, confusion in his voice.

"Just drop it Bui." Trunks said.

Meanwhile Piccolo flew up the ancient structure that was Koren's Tower, breaking the clouds and finally reaching Kami's Lookout.

In all it's many years of existence Kami's Lookout had changed very little. It had been destroyed twice threw out it's history, once by Garlic Jr and a second time by Maijin Buu. Each time it had been wished back by the power of Shenron.

Piccolo flew onto the edge of the ancient structure, landing next to a silent yet reflective Dende, the Earth's current guardian.

"Hello Piccolo, it is good to see you back here, its been too long." Dende said with a smile.

"Yes the lookout is much more pleasant than Hell." Piccolo said half-jokingly, causing Dende to laugh briefly.

"I assume your here to speak about the disturbances in time along with the increase in human aggression?" Dende asked

"I did want to see what you knew about the time-space disturbances, as well as the machine beings that I believe are causing them. However I have something equally as important to talk to you about Dende. We are going to need to revive and overhaul the dragonballs. As much as the Elder Kai might protest, I believe we will soon have need of Earth's Dragonballs again." Piccolo said

"I tried rebuilding the Shenron module again and summoning him back to Earth." Dende said

"Oh? And what happened?" Piccolo said, genuinely curious.

"Shenron told me telepathically that he views his contract terminated because of overuse and the near destruction of the universe. He will not return to being Earth's eternal dragon Piccolo, he refuses." Dende said sadly.

"Shenron has been gone, gone to the same place Goku is now. He does not wish to be responsible for the universe's destruction. That is why he likely doesn't wish to return. But I'm afraid we will need Shenron Dende." Piccolo said.

The overuse of the Dragonballs had built up negative energy which had taken the form of the shadow dragons. Because Shenron unintentionally almost destroyed the universe, the eternal dragon had decided to leave for parts unknown, taking Goku with him.

Whatever Shenron had planned Piccolo could only guess. Long ago, the part of Piccolo that was called Kami had summoned Shenron using a module with a similar shape. When Kami had created the Dragonballs he had assumed Shenron himself was his own creation. Shenron himself even refered to Kami as his creator.

But old memories reminded Piccolo of the truth. Kami had become Shenron's master, in the terms of the contract Kami had made with Shenron and his red sibling before that, Kami would be referred to as the dragon's creator. But Shenron had existed before the creation of Earth's dragonballs. Shenron was a sprit dragon, an eternal dragon, and had existed in a higher plane of existence long before being bound by the dragonballs.

"Piccolo there may be a way." Dende said

"To revive Earth's Dragonballs?" Piccolo asked

"Yes, if there is a way Kohryu would know it." Dende said with a hopeful tone.

Unknown to either Dende or Piccolo, they were being observed.

In Gentech's hidden headquarters..

Gen Kato as well as the silver hued Mega watched the three monitors in the small dimly lit room. One monitor showed a broadcast of Capsule Corporation headquarters in West City, the second monitor was an image of Mount Paozu, while the third had a steam of Kami's Lookout.

"As much as I'd love to have wishes granted from the Dragonballs, I don't believe it is in our best interests for our enemy to have that big an advantage over us." Gen said as he adjusted his white tie.

"And what of the Trunks of the diseased timeline? He presents an excess variable that will likely interfere with my master's grand design for the timestream. That and there is still the matter of capturing this world's Trunks." Mega said with a concerned tone.

"We will send a group of Kilos to destroy Kami's lookout and hopefully eliminate Dende as well as Koren. As for both Trunks, we can send a battalion of Kilos to both locations, but not yet. We need to enrage the other Z-fighters and provoke them into fighting us. All the while I will have camera drones record the battles once they occur. Since I own most of ZTV as well as most other major broadcast channels, we can spin this negatively for the Z-Fighters." Gen said with a happy tone in his voice.

"Good plan. If Vegeta or any of the other stronger Z-fighters pose a problem for the Kilos I will intervene when we choose to attack the Saiyans." Mega said

Meanwhile at Kami's lookout Piccolo continued to converse with Dende, when he heard the sound of multiple objects approaching.

"Dende something is coming." Piccolo said in a warning tone to the younger Namek.

"I know I see them. They are the same robots I've observed over the last few months." Dende said.

"In that case I am going to engage them, Dende make sure you stay safe." Piccolo said before flying into the sky toward the approaching enemies.

As Piccolo flew closer, he could see about four of the copper-colored robots, identical to the one that he had driven off earlier. Piccolo powered up to his maximum just as the robots neared his position.

"Hello you rusty buckets of bolts, remember me?" Piccolo taunted.

"Designation: Piccolo. Species: Namek." The Kilos said as one.

"Yes yes, you have to remind me your machines by spouting out useless information, I get it. Can we just skip that part and get to fighting?" Piccolo asked with some annoyance in his voice.

As one the four Kilos opened fire on Piccolo, firing blue laser beams at the Namekian warrior. Piccolo managed to fly upwards and out of the beam's path in time, having sensed the weapon's destructive power.

"That weapon is a lot stronger than those robots using it, I have to be careful." Piccolo said to himself as he flew in a U-turn to avoid missiles fired out of the hands of the Kilos.

Meanwhile at at Mt. Paozu, Trunks and Bui had arrived in front of the large domed structure that served as Gohan's house.

Trunks looked around, seeing Goku and Chi-Chi's home nearby.

"You know I bet in afew generations if more of Gohan's family builds homes here there eventually will be a village or something." Trunks said as he knocked on the door.

"That is if they don't move somewhere else." Bui said

"True, just I thought that the image of village was funny." Trunks said

"You would Trunks." A familiar voice said

"Goten!" Trunks said on seeing his best friend walk out from behind the large home.

Goten looked not much different from when he saw him last. He wore a white t-shirt and purple jeans. His hair was still cut short.

"Who else? What is Bui doing with you?" Goten said

"I have something to tell Gohan, I just happened to meet up with Trunks on the way here." Bui said

"I see, well you should hurry inside then." Goten said, opening the door for the two of them.

"Hey Goten what were you doing behind the house?" Trunks asked with a smile on his face.

"I was talking to Valese about dinner tonight." Goten said

"So you've been serious about her this entire time?" Trunks asked, still smiling.

"Of coarse. I've been thinking for along time that it would be nice to settle down and start a family of my own." Goten said smiling back at Trunks.

"I never thought you of all people would Goten." Trunks said

"What about you Trunks, any luck with the ladies lately?" Goten said.

"Guys as fascinating as this conversation is, I really need to see Gohan." Bui said with an impatient tone.

With that as if on cue the door to the large home opened and Gohan stood in the doorframe. Gohan had not changed much in appearance since Trunks had last seen him. He had a similiar haircut to Goten, and looked like he had been working out. Trunks noticed he still wasn't wearing those old nerdy glasses of his either.

"Bui, Trunks, Goten, you better come inside and see this." Gohan said with a serious expression on his face.

The four men went inside and saw Pan and Videl staring at the small television in Gohan's family room. On the screen was a news program. Trunks recognized the station as ZTV, one of the world's biggest broadcast channels.

On the TV a middle aged male reporter with black hair and a suit was speaking, behind him was an image of Kame House.

"What is this?" Trunks asked aloud.

"If your just tuning in, recently evidence was found linking the Royal Government with a secret society of martial artists. Evidence links this society with the appearances of Cell as well as other beings who have been terrorizing the world for decades. We have now on scene reporter Alice Cooperland, who traveled to this exotic location with a unit of elite police." The reporter said before the image switched to a beautiful female reporter with black hair.

"Here on this island we have pinpointed three members of the secret society, I am live as the neutral gentech police infiltrate the home and arrest the three inside.

"This can't be happening." Gohan said in shock.

"Dad..I'm scared." Pan said

"I'm sure Roshi, Krillin and Eighteen can handle themselves." Videl said

To the horror of all watching a group of five black armored figures blasted door the front door to the pink home with some kind of wrist-mounted canon. The five swat-team looking figures then entered the home. A few sounds could be heard after that, among them the sound of Master Roshi yelling to get out of his house. A few crash and bang noises were then heard, then a long silence followed by Krillin, Master Roshi and Eighteen being led out in some sort of hand-cuffs towards a black vehicle.

"And there we have it, the police with some effort have arrested three members of the society, among them surprisingly was the legendary martial artist, Master Roshi. It is a sad day when such a talented person is revealed to be among the terrorists." The female reporter said

Immediately the image switched back to the male reporter in the studio.

"This is outrageous!" Gohan said, his anger beginning to build.

When the image of Hercule Satan appeared on the screen, Pan and Videl both let out a surprised gasp.

"New information reveals the world renowned Mr. Hercule Satan to be apart of this secret society. It is truly a sad day when such a beloved hero is revealed to be a simple con-artist and part of the terrorist plot. I now give you Anthony Alexton on scene from Mr. Satan's mansion as a team moves in to arrest the.." The reporter said before Pan turned off the television, tears in her eyes.

"Pan I'm so sorry, I don't know why this is all happening." Gohan said, holding his daughter in a warm embrace.

"My brother's plans begin already." Bui said

"What plans?" Gohan said, promptly letting go of Pan and then grabbing Bui's shirt and holding him above the floor.

"Tell me what is going on...now!" Gohan said, fury in his voice.

"Dad beating him up won't help." Pan said, tears in her eyes.

"It will make me feel better." Gohan said

"Dad please stop." Pan said, sadness in her voice.

"Gohan I'm not your enemy. I was coming here to warn you of what my brother was planning. Please put me down!" Bui said

"How do we know your on our side? I always thought it was a bit strange how you turned from our enemy to a friend so quickly." Gohan said darkly.

"Gohan don't you freaking remember? You were the first person to show me friendship after I attacked you. If it weren't for you I don't know where I'd be now. I'm not your enemy. Please Gohan." Bui pleaded.

Trunks put a hand on Gohans.

"Gohan, this isn't like you. Please let him go so he can explain at the very least." Trunks said calmly.

Gohan silently dropped Bui to the ground and crossed his arms.

"This better be good." Gohan said.

"Gohan I know how you feel believe me. Today I was informed by Johnson, a former employee of mine when I was Gentech's CEO and a man who practically raised me, that my brother has decided to invest all of Gentech's vast resources into prolonging the current world war. He also has re launched to Neo-Saiyan program, as well as acquired some new mysterious allies. I fear the worst." Bui said

"Then what are we waiting for, lets fly to Gentech's headquarters and take your brother and his company out." Goten said.

"I agree with my brother, why don't we just eliminate the problem at the source?" Gohan said with barely contained fury.

"We can't do that guys, that will only make things worse. Did you see those reports? If we were to attack civilians how do you think we will look in the eyes of the public? No matter how bad people think of you, you guys have always protected Earth and its people. Please don't do what your thinking of doing. It would break my heart Gohan." Videl said with tears in her eyes.

"Your wife is right Gohan, attacking Gentech might make us feel better but it won't guarantee the problem is eliminated. In fact, it might make things a lot worse." Bui said

"Oh and aren't you the wise one." Gohan said sarcastically.

"Gohan Bui is trying to help, why are you acting this way?" Trunks asked, concern in his voice.

"Because I just watched family members being taken away and old friends being arrested. I just saw everyone I know and care about, people who have been protecting this planet since before YOU were born, called terrorists." Gohan said as a yellow aura began to appear around him.

"Gohan, thats enough." Goten said with concern.

"You..get out of my house." Gohan said, his fury building.

"Your acting irrationally Gohan, I'm not the enemy here." Bui said, slight tension in his tone.

"I SAID GET OUT!" Gohan yelled as a yellow aura exploded around him.

The now Super Saiyan Gohan ran forward faster than Pan and Videl's eyes could see and punched Bui in the gut, sending the white-haired Neo-Saiyan flying straight out the front door. Gohan ran out the door after him.

Trunks and Goten quickly followed, and once outside, saw Gohan attacking Bui in mid-air some distance above them. To his credit, Bui was able to avoid most of Gohan's attacks, but was clearly inferior to Gohan in experience and power.

"Gohan stop this is ridiculous!" Goten yelled

"No Goten, let him get it out." Trunks said much to Goten's surprise.

Meanwhile, nearby Kami's lookout, the group of Kilo robots continued to follow Piccolo as he lead them further from the lookout. The last thing Piccolo wanted to see was the lookout destroyed yet again.

As Piccolo flew he decided to turn around. The Namekian warrior then pointed both hands towards the incoming Kilos and began firing multiple rapid-fire energy attacks, all of which the Kilo's managed to dodge.

It was an old trick Piccolo once used in battle years ago, and it was proving effective against these machine enemies as well.

"Hellzone Grenade!" Piccolo yelled, closing his right hand.

As one the hundreds of energy blasts Piccolo had fired earlier converged on the group of Kilos. In the bright, flashy explosion that followed, Piccolo was assured he had destroyed the robots. Moments later, the falling copper colored debris confirmed Piccolo had eliminated the machines.

"Felt good using that attack again." Piccolo said before rocketing back towards the lookout.

Piccolo returned to Dende, who looked happy he came back without a scratch.

"Piccolo if those things found the Lookout then we aren't safe here anymore. There is a strong possibility more will come." Dende said, clutching his staff tightly.

"Yes that does concern me. If they were heading to the lookout in those numbers we can bet they were trying to eliminate you." Piccolo said with concern in his voice.

"We will have to change the Lookout's location, but that still leaves Koren undefended." Dende said

"I will get him and that fat lump Yajirobe and bring them up here if that is the coarse of action you want to take. Not to change the subject however, but any progress on ways we could bring Shenron back to Earth?" Piccolo asked.

"The only way I can think of is to actually go to the place Shenron is and ask him personally. But if I'm correct on where I believe he is that won't be possible unless Kohryu himself brings you." Dende said

"There may be another way. We could use the Black Star Dragonballs." Piccolo said with a thoughtful expression.

"But wishes granted by Red Shenron would destroy the Earth in a year unless you re gathered those dragonballs and brought them back to Earth." Dende said

"I have something else in mind for the Black Star Dragonballs Dende. I wanted to bring Shenron back in hopes Goku would return. Before he left Earth the dragonballs merged with Goku. I already sensed far more power from him when he visited me in Hell than he had before that merger." Piccolo said

"So you believe a similar power increase would occur if you absorbed the Black Star Dragonballs?" Dende asked.

"Oh I know I would grant great power. The Black Star Dragonballs easily have the most power out of the three sets we know about. If I merged with them, I imagine my power would increase at least ten times my current maximum." Piccolo said

"But how will you gather the Black Star Balls in so short a time?" Dende asked

"Instant Transmission. King Kai taught me the technique before the final battle with Tlama alittle over a year ago. I can sense the presence of the Black Star Balls, so finding them with instant transmission should be relatively easy." Piccolo said.

"Alright sounds like a plan. Just take care of Yajirobe and Koren and I should be ready to relocate the Lookout, then you can begin your search for the Black Star Balls Piccolo." Dende said

Meanwhile, Mount Paozu...

Bui franticly dodged Gohan's enraged punches. He had given up trying to reason with Gohan, as the later man's anger, pain and confusion prevented him from thinking clearly.

Trunks, Goten, Videl and Pan couldn't do much else but watch.

Unexpectedly an energy blast suddenly flew into Gohan, sending the man soaring backwards.

Everyone looked in the direction the blast had come from to see a man who bore a remarkable resemblance to Goku. The Saiyan wore green Saiyan armor and a red bandanna, he stood on top of a nearby tree with his arms crossed. The man was Bardock, father of Goku and grandfather to Gohan and Goten.

"Gohan is this how you welcome your Grandfather when he comes to visit?" Bardock said with a smirk.

...

_Hello everyone, SwordofGeddon here. I hope you all are enjoying the story so far. I actually got the idea for Piccolo merging with the Black Star Balls from Toyble, author of a fan manga of Dragonball AF(not to be confused with JTX's excellent series of fanfics here on ). In Toyble's AF, it was stated that a being who merged with a dragon had their power increase by at least ten times. This was the explanation for how Goku acheived Super Saiyan Five. _

_In my series, Super Saiyan Five is only acceived if the Saiyan is granted the form by a higher power of some sort, as happened to Vegeta back during the Tlama saga. Shenron counts as a higher power, so if I do have Goku return with the ability to tranform into a Super Saiyan Five, you know how he achieved the form._

_As always don't forget to review. Take care everyone and thankyou for reading!_

_-Sword of Geddon._


	3. Into the Abyss

Gohan looked with surprise at seeing Bardock. The last time he had seen his grandfather, and also the first time he had met the man, was in the middle of the battle against Tlama.

"I understand your anger Gohan, believe me. But taking your anger out on your friends and loved ones...that is a no no." Bardock said while hovering with his arms crossed a short distance from the ground.

Bui hovered downwards until his feet were on the ground, hoping the sudden appearance of this Bardock person would calm the situation.

"Hello..grandfather." Gohan said with an embarrassed tone.

"Hello Gohan. Now that the greetings are over with, I thought I'd tell you something." Bardock said with a serious tone.

"I'm listening." Gohan said

Trunks could only help but wonder about Bardock. If he was half as strong as his son, he was definitely a powerful figure. Gohan had mentioned one time about a month after Tlama's defeat that Bardock had been in Hell after he died trying to stop Frieza from destroying Planet Vegeta, the Saiyans adopted homeworld. Sometime years later, Bardock had met and befriended Piccolo. The twosome's combined abilities were instrumental in defeating Tlama.

Trunks, Bui, Goten, Gohan and Pan gathered to hear what Bardock had to say.

"As you are all aware, I am a bit of a seer. I can catch glimpses of the future, or possible futures." Bardock said.

"How does that help us though?" Gohan asked, impatience returning to the man.

"Gohan lets hear what your Grandfather has to say before you make an judgments please." Trunks said

"Anyway, here is what I had a vision of recently." Bardock said before pausing, making sure all present were silent before he continued.

"I saw the word gentech, but over that word was a great cloud of darkness." Bardock said

"I have a horrible feeling I know what he is talking about." Bui said

"Please Bui, anything you think could help us would be appreciated." Trunks said diplomaticly while eyeing Gohan, who looked ashamed with himself.

"When I was still CEO of Gentech, my brother had a small subdivision of the company for himself. Every month when I met with the board of directors regarding the company's budget, we increasingly found that my brother's subdivision was taking in more and more money for the massive research projects that were going on." Bui said, looking at the others as he told his tale before continuing.

"Growing up my brother was always a bit strange, and he had a ruthless streak that scared even my father. That was why I was named his successor. Every year after the money began to flow into my brother's projects, I found he grew more and more obsessed with something he called the realignment of time. He had completed that project by the time I was ousted as CEO shortly before that business with Tlama began. I imagine the board of directors was so impressed with my brother's work that that was one reason they named him CEO." Bui said

"But you still had a spy keeping tabs after being ousted didn't you Bui?" Trunks asked.

"Yes, Johnson continued to inform me secretly about what Gen was doing with the company. He had expanded Gentech's weapons development programs. Johnson also told me about the nature of Gen's earlier experiments with time. I did not believe him at first but I'm not so sure now." Bui said.

"What did you hear from Johnson that was to much for you to believe?" Trunks asked.

"My brother started his time experiments rather simply. Early on he gave me reports of his findings. It was discovered that time could not be changed, as an object was sent two minutes forward in time, but failed to material. This meant the timestream was an ocean of overlapping parallel universes, not a river. " Bui explained.

"That would explain where Cell came from, but not how he was able to influence events afterwards." Gohan said thoughtfully.

"Anyway, very early into his experiments, my brother reported hearing a voice from the other side of a time gate he had opened. My brother soon grew obsessed with what this voice told him to do, which was to realign time itself. One of the last times Johnson called me was when he claimed my brother had been successful in realigning time, as he said weird robots were patrolling the halls of Gentech. Johnson even claimed he saw the robots emerging from one of Gen's time tunnels. Like I said before, I did not totally believe him at first..but now I'm not so sure." Bui said

"This is definitely beginning to remind me of the time me and the other Trunks saw the time machine Cell came threw the first time." Gohan said, making Trunks wince at the sound of the words "Other Trunks."

"At this stage it is too late to stop my brother from gating things to this side of his tunnel, however we can shut down his operation to prevent further intruders from timespace, and of coarse defeat whatever is already here." Bui said

"Unless you know where Gentech's main headquarters is Bui, we won't be able to do much." Trunks said

Meanwhile in Capsule Corporation's headquarters in West City..

Future Trunks looked over the large Hanger Bay located at the back of Capsule Corporation's large domed-shaped headquarters. Generally unknown to the public, this place was where Bulma had decided to keep most of her successful inventions that she did not want the public aware of for various reasons.

Included among these hidden inventions was an almost home-sized ship that to Trunks vaguely resembled an octopus. A holographic sign in front of the ship said in large letters "Grand Tour Starship".

Future Trunks turned towards Bulma, who was slightly ahead of him as she guided him to the back of the hangar. Bulma smiled and turned towards her son, who still refused to remove his blue capsule corporation jacket.

"That ship is an improvement over the module my father built years ago when we first went to Namek. It is designed for longer trips." Bulma said with pride.

"It is pretty amazing, why haven't you sold this thing to the public? I always thought Capsule Corporation should lead humanity as it expands into space. It was always a dream of mine, but the rebuilding in my own time always came first." Future Trunks said with a slight hint of sorrow in his voice.

"I'm glad you like it, my son, the other Trunks, well he thought the company should branch into weapons development, plus he wasn't found of the ship's shape." Bulma said with a hint of frustration.

"Trunks hated being a CEO a couple years ago, he just used it as an excuse not to train, then all of a sudden after that whole Tlama affair was over he was extremely aggressive with taking Bulma's company in a new direction. I don't understand him sometimes." Vegeta said, leaning against an older module spaceship, the same kind that Goku took to Namek all those years ago.

"Its so strange how different your Trunks turned out compared to me." Future Trunks said

"He never had to grow up in a world in ruin like you did, he had his friends and family and a peaceful world instead. Adversary builds character, unfortunately my son, my other son, did not have much of it growing up." Vegeta said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

Bulma lead Trunks to the time machine. It looked identical to the one Trunks arrived in years ago, a fact which surprised Future Trunks.

"So this is, or was, Cell's time machine?" Future Trunks asked.

"Yes, I managed to rebuild it after you left it with me after Cell was defeated. I added a few things to the basic design, but otherwise it is the same as the one you came here in." Bulma said

"May I test it out?" Future Trunks asked

"Go ahead, if you find yourself in danger once in the timestream though, press the return button on the controls, that should immediately bring you back here at the same point you left." Bulma said

"Trunks, take this." Vegeta said, throwing Future Trunks his sword.

"Thankyou father. Alright the mother here goes nothing." Future Trunks said, then hovered into the air as the time ship's hatch opened.

immediately flew down and into the ship's lone seat, following that the hatch lowered, signaling that he was ready to take off.

looked over the controls, finding them familiar enough that he knew how to fly the ship, he pressed a series of buttons and immediately the time machine disappeared from the hangar and reappeared in the timestream.

Much like in the simulation back at Capsule Corporation, Future Trunks saw a silver river flowing forward infinitely, and backwards infinitely. It was completely different than the last time he was here.

"Might as well test the ship's travel capabilities. "Lets try one thousand years in the future." Future Trunks said as he pressed a series of buttons.

Suddenly the ship accelerated forwards threw the silver void. In a thunderous clap, the ship exited the timestream and emerged over what looked like a city. The city was unfamiliar to him, and curiosity had gotten the best of Trunks, so he guided the ship's flight over the strange black city. Industrial looking buildings pumped orange gas of some sort, or perhaps fire, into the sky. Trunks noticed the sky. The starry sky was dominated by a bloated red sun which cast the entire planet with a dim red glow.

"That isn't right. I said one thousand years, not a few billion." Future Trunks said, but noticed the year date was exactly the date he ordered the time machine to go to.

"What happened? Well regardless, I should head back." Future Trunks said, having an increasingly bad feeling about his surroundings.

"I see the last survivor of one of the destroyed timeline has graced me with a visit." An authoritative sounding male voice spoke.

Trunks immediately sensed a huge power nearby. As if on instinct Future Trunks pressed the capsulize button on the controls and quickly exited his ship as the ship transformed into a small capsule. Future Trunks then quickly grabbed the capsule as it fell and placed it in a small box in his coat pocket.

After he had done these things Trunks looked in the direction he heard the voice speaking.

The figure was very close in distance much to Trunk's surprise. If Trunks were to stick out his hand he could probably hit the figure the distance was so small.

The being floated, seemingly by his own power, just as Trunks was. It was a he, that much Trunks was certain. The figure was clad head to toe in obsidian-hued black armor. The armor had orange vein-like wires running from different extremities of the figure's body to a point in the center of the figure's chest, where an orange gem-like object was embedded.

The figure's face looked young but experienced, with a bone white skin tone. A knight-like helmet of the blackest hue crowned the figure's head. The helmet had two wing-like protrusions sticking out of the top on either side. Two glowing red eyes stared at Future Trunks with contempt and arrogance.

"Welcome to my world Trunks. What do you think of the order I brought to the world formerly known as Earth?" The figure said in a masculine voice.

"Who are you?" Future Trunks asked even as he prepared to defend himself.

At Trunks' question the figure smiled and held out his right hand, the palm of which glowed with a crimson light.

Suddenly a beam of intense red light leapt from the being's hand and struck Trunks, causing him to spasm in midair with intense pain. At seeing Trunks in pain the being smiled, as if the idea of another in pain brought pleasure to the being.

Trunks yelled, both from the pain and from his efforts to fight it. Suddenly the red light around Future Trunks dissipated as a golden aura enveloped his body, signaling that the young man had become a Super Saiyan as his hair became yellow and spiked upwards.

Future Trunks removed his sword from its scabbard, holding it in a combat stance.

"The famous Saiyan swordsman in my presence. I am truly honored." The being said with a cruel smile on his face.

"You didn't answer my question. Who are you?" Trunks said with an express that showed neither fear nor pity.

"I am the order of the universe, as well as the final hidden desire of mankind. That is all you need to know for now." The figure said.

"Well then mystery man x, if your not going to give me your name and play mind games with me, I guess you leave me no choice." Trunks said, rushing forward with one of his favorite sword attacks.

To Trunk's surprise the figure parried Trunks sword with a blade of his own, an enormous obsidian-hued claymore.

Trunks fought against his adversary's weapon, but soon he was forced backwards and after which quickly managed to dodge the giant black sword several more times as his opponent tried his hardest to kill him.

"For such a big weapon you sure don't have any problems with speed." Trunks said as he brought his sword around in an attempt to decapitate his opponent.

"War and conflict is the ultimate teacher." The being said as he blocked Trunk's sword with his own weapon once again.

Trunks brought his weapon around again, this time sending a small energy blast into his opponent's face. The attack seemed to surprise Trunk's dark armored opponent, as he didn't parry or dodge Trunks sword as it slammed into his chest.

Rather then slicing his opponent, Trunk's attack send the armored warrior soaring backwards and downwards. Trunk's opponent crashed threw several industrial tower looking buildings as Trunks flew forward alongside his opponent. Trunks positioned himself behind his incoming adversary and fired off one of his signature attacks.

"Finish Buster!" Future Trunks yelled as he send a glowing yellow beam in the direction of his opponent.

The attack slammed into the black armored warrior, who uttered no noise betraying pain or injury.

The armored warrior righted himself and turned so that he once again faced Trunks. The being's sword had seemingly disappeared.

"I see history does you justice. Your just as powerful as the records say you are Trunks." The armored warrior said, once again a cruel expression on his face.

Future Trunks decided to change strategies.

"If my swordsmanship and power impresses you, than who am I to disappoint? Want to see something new?" Future Trunks said with a smile of his own on his face.

Trunk's opponent did not answer, instead he fired a red beam from his right hand. Having experienced the effects of that beam once before, Trunks had no desire to feel the beam's power a second time, so he soared up into the sky.

To Trunk's surprise the beam, now in the form of a small red sphere, followed him into the sky. No matter where Trunk's turned, the orb was behind him.

Trunks decided to stop holding back, and put his sword back in it's scabbard. With a roar of effort, Trunks ascended further, pushing his power and form beyond that of a mere Super Saiyan.

Suddenly a second sun lit the dark world, a shining yellow sun. The black armored figure was forced to shield his eyes from a level of light he was unaccustomed to seeing.

The light soon faded to reveal Future Trunks, now with even spikier hair, a slightly more muscular physique, and an aura of blue electricity that danced around his form.

As the black armored being rose to Trunk's eye level Trunks spoke.

"After finding out how to balance both strength and speed, I finally was able to reach this level. I guess I will never find out your name since your about to die." Future Trunks said, now at the second level of the Super Saiyan.

"As impressive as your power is, it never pays to underestimate your opponent." The black armored figure said.

"Boldly stated but unless your holding back I'm easily ten times stronger than you. From what I have seen so far of your strength I'd say I have little to fear from you." Future Trunks said.

"Is that so? Well Trunks I'm afraid you have only seen a very small portion of my power. Allow me to give you a slightly better glimpse of what I am truly capable of." The armored warrior said, than smiled before letting out a fearsome roar. In seconds the power the being was giving off began to worry Trunks as space around the being seemed to distort, as if afraid of the warrior's power.

After his opponent's power up Trunks could see a Super-Saiyan like aura around the person. The difference was that this being's aura was a vivid red in color, much unlike the normally yellow aura of the super saiyan.

The being summoned his oversized sword once again, smiling cruelly at Trunks before speaking.

"You will suffer more at the hands of Krysis, than you ever did when you fought any of those pathetic artificial lifeforms in the past. Now bleed!" The being, identifying himself for the first time, said as he rushed forward, sword in hand, in an attempt at impaling Trunks.

Future Trunks drew his sword once again, and determined not to show any fear or weakness, charged Krysis head on with all the Saiyan power he could muster.

When the two combatants clashed a shock wave was produced which caused an earthquake on the ground below that leveled the cityscape in the area.

Sparks flew as metal clashed with metal, neither warrior intending on yielding.

"Truthfully I was surprised you survived the realignment, considering you were caught in the middle of it. How does it feel to be the last survivor of your universe?" Krysis said cruelly, taunting Trunks.

"It feels great." Trunks said sarcasticly, pushing all his strength into his sword as the two blades continued to fight against each other.

Krysis moved backwards, dodging a slash from Trunk's weapon in the process.

"Well it was fun playing with you. I rarely get the chance these days." Krysis said as he unsummoned his sword and powered down, his red aura disappearing.

"What are you planning? Did you only attack me for your amusement?" Future Trunks asked, and unlike his opponent, he did not power down.

Trunks barely finished his sentence when thousands of humanoid figures rose from the city into the sky. Some were copper in color, fewer were silver, and even rarer was the few gold that Trunks saw floating into the sky. Trunks realized all of the figures were robots of some kind.

"I attacked you to see what sort of threat you presented. I will say you were found..wanting. If I wanted a true challenge I should have had Vegeta arranged to be transported here." Krysis said with a tone of contempt.

"So an ascended Super Saiyan still isn't enough for you?" Future Trunks said, a bit infuriated that he would be underestimated.

"Even if you had more power in you, which I don't think you do, the true strength of a general is with his army." Krysis said, gesturing to the vast cloud of floating machines behind him.

"Even the greatest strength is nothing before the power of capable allies." Krysis said with a cruel smile on his white face.

Trunks knew that he had to find a safe place to release his time machine, let alone get aboard and leave this place. In the three years he had spent rebuilding Earth following Bojack's defeat, Trunks had glimpsed a deeper, stronger level of Super Saiyan which was beyond even the Ascended Saiyan, as hard as that was to believe.

It took many long hours of training for Future Trunks to scratch the surface of that level, and even more to finally actually make the transformation. The form was untested in combat, and Trunks did not know how long he could maintain the transformation, but he saw no choice at the moment but to give the form a test run..

Trunks held his palms tightly and tensely as he prepared to ascend further to a level of power he did not yet fully understand. Doubts attempted to cloud Trunk's judgement, but the warrior from another time mustered all his courage and banished the specter of doubt from his mind as he began to reach ever deeper into his soul.

Krysis nearby sensed Trunk's power begin to skyrocket.

"I suppose I will let the boy finish powering up. After I crush him at his maximum he will realize how truly limited he really is." Krysis said with an arrogant smirk on his face.

As Future Trunks reached further and further into himself the strain on his body caused him to cry out in a combination of stress, pain, and effort. Trunk's aura flared outwards and the electricity dancing around his body became more abundant and more violent. The sky seemed to distort behind Trunks, which the entire planet began to shake.

Meanwhile one thousand years in the past...

Gen Kato moved his hand affectionately over the glass casing which held one of the five Neo-Saiyans. The figure inside the case looked to be either in his teens or early twenties, and possessed wild black hair. A breathing device was on the figure's mouth.

It was a dark, dimly lit room. The room contained five capsules full of some sort of fluid.

Behind Gen was a Kilo as well as several members of Gentech's board of directors.

"So these are the Neo-Saiyans. I do confess sir, they definitely look more complete than that haphazard form your brother took after his transformation." A middle-aged looking man with a bald head and a full business suit said.

"Well of coarse. My brother merely spliced his own DNA with that from the DNA we managed to gather from many of the full-blooded Saiyans we managed to collect genetic material from. Whatever he became was totally a random process. These five here however, we choose only genetic material from both Saiyan and Human stalk that would produce the best warriors." Gen said with pride in his voice.

"So when will you bait the Z-fighters into attacking the Vanguard of Independent Nations?" Another member of the board asked, this one a shorter man with a full head of grey hair.

"I don't need them to outright enter the war. I already have had the media channels we own depict the Z-fighter's friends and relatives as terrorists. We even have four of them in custody." Gen said with a confident tone.

"So what is our next step?" The short man with the grey hair asked

"I'm going to have Mega attack capsule corporation in hopes it will result in a destructive battle with Vegeta. At the same time that is going on, the media as well as our police form will go to Mount Paozu under escort by several Kilo units. This should be the move that forces the Z-Fighters into the war." Gen said with a smile.

At very moment Gen was speaking with members of his company a group of media vehicles with the word GenNews rode up the narrow roads leading to the summit of Mount Paozu. Accompanying the media were several black vans as well as three copper-hued Kilo robots flying overhead.

At the home of his best friend, the Trunks of this timeline had a growing feeling of unease.

In West City a silver-hued robot walked boldly up to the front door of Capsule Corporation headquarters.

Hearing the gruff voice of Vegeta answer the door with a "Who is there?" seemed to satisfy the silver machine, who prompt punched the front door down in front of a slightly surprised Vegeta.

"I don't know who you think you are, but you just put me in a bad mood. Trust me when I say that isn't a good thing...for you." Vegeta said, seemingly ready for combat in his blue sleeveless Saiyan armor.

One thousand years in the future, the Trunks of another timeline had finished his transformation. Now with waist-long spikey golden hair and lacking eyebrows, Future Trunks was now quite intimidating.

In a deep voice that lacked any warmth, Trunks spoke.

"Don't keep me waiting, lets dance." Future Trunks said with a serious expression.

...

_Hello once again everyone. Just wanted to leave afew notes here. In this story, Future Trunks(also known as Mirai Trunks) last visited the "Prime" timeline during the huge world tournament that was later attacked by Bojack in the movie, "Bojack Unbound". In my own personal canon, that movie took place about a year after Goku's death and Cell's defeat. Unlike the "Prime" Trunks, Future Trunks continued to train after each crisis. I believe he was on the verge of attaining Super Saiyan 2 at the end of the Cell Saga, so that is why I had him transform into that form this chapter. As for Super Saiyan 3, I think if Trunks had trained often enough and hard enough, after some time he would be able to acceive the form if he was strong enough beforehand._

_I realize this leaves Future Trunks with a much higher maximum power than "Prime" Trunks, who is only capable of the first level of Super Saiyan on his own, acceiving Super Saiyan Three only while fused as Gotenks. It will become a plot point later. _

_As always don't be afraid of leaving any critism(as long as it is constructive) or praise in the form of a review. I encourage everyone to review._


	4. The Fall of Trunks

The dust blew the desert sands over the moving assortment of vehicles. Various tan colored tanks and armored cars traveled on land, while overhead several squadrons of attack helicopters provided aerial escort to the ground-based portion of the attack force.

One of the armored cars was carrying an important passenger. He was a veteran in every sense of the word. Just by looking at the man you would know he had experience. His tan uniform had ten stars denoting rank, and various small medals on his chest noted how many battles the man had took part in, either personally or in a command role. His face was weathered from the years he had lived, and his short white hair said he was of the age that many simply retired and looked after grandchildren. But this general had a fire within him that would not let him give up his job just yet.

The man was Dwight Yumimoto. He was one of the greatest generals of his time and had commanded battles for a little over forty years. After his fellow general, Viron left the Royal Military to pursue a teaching career about five years ago, General Yumimoto became the highest ranking member of the Royal armies.

The General sat alone in the back of the armored vehicle which carried him. It was a spartan interior with the black cushion of the seats barely on the level of comfortable, but the General was used to living and operating in non-pampered environments.

The General remembered the conflicts that he had lived threw forty years prier to the current date. Back then many countries expressed dissatisfaction against the World Government, as with today. The Royal Government had been established over one hundred years in the past after a century of horrible wars and complete anarchy in many parts of the world. It was in theory supposed to cater both to the interests of individual nation states as well as the world's economic and security needs. The formation of the Red Ribbon Army was foreseen by the General at the time, then a corporal. Dwight remembered how the RRA(red ribbon army) promised to look after the interests of the countries that lent it troops and supplies. The organization had taken advantage of the distrust and resentment some nations still expressed towards the World Government and its king.

The Royal Military had engaged the Red Ribbon Army on numerous occasions during the brief war at the time. That war had ended really before it had begun when the Red Ribbon Army's leadership mysteriously either died or surrendered. Some said it was the same young boy who defeated King Piccolo that brought about the Red Ribbon Army's end, but General Dwight Yumimoto knew better than to trust in so called heroes.

When those two aliens invaded and destroyed a city, some group calling themselves "Earth's Special Forces", or the "Z-fighters" claimed credit for dealing with the aliens.

The General remembered how later an entire division of the military had been utterly destroyed by the being who called himself Cell. Shortly after that celebrity martial artist Hercule Satan claimed credit for Cell's defeat. At the time he had a private theory that one of the others present at that mock tournament had truly been the one who defeated Cell, but he kept the theory to himself. The General had a lingering suspicion that the so called "Z-Fighters" were the same as those in the background during Cell's mock tournament.

In more recent years still more strange events had struck the Earth. It was said once again that a mysterious group of heroes defeated and ended the threat of Baby as well as the group of invaders from that sinister hole in the sky three years ago.

Now that the King had died, the rebellious, dissatisfied or independent minded nations had decided to take the chance to succeed. If they won the war, the world government would be dissolved and it was likely another great time of chaos would follow.

That was why he fought in this war. That was why he knew all the troops under his command fought. But it was an uphill battle. In the beginning the Royal Military held its own against the Vanguard's armies, despite the fact the Royal Military was generally outnumbered at least two to one. But recently new weapons and vehicles had been fielded by Vanguard forces, and it seemed the tide had turned in the war in the Vanguard's favor.

This mission was a critical one. They were raiding a Vanguard Base in the middle of the great western desert. The base had, according to spies, a vast amount of the advanced technology and vehicles the Vanguard's armies had come to depend on. If they could raid the base and steal the designs, the Royal Military could perhaps reverse engineer the plans and field forces capable of countering the Vanguard's.

It was then that the general heard an alarm from the front of the convoy. They were under attack.

High above the desert sands, a squadron of ultra-futuristic-looking black fighter planes with a vague v-shape flew in formation as they approached the convoy of Royal Military forces.

Each of the pilots of the planes determined that the convoy was at this time most open to attack, and proceeded to open fire on the vehicles at the front of the convoy.

Quick laser fire demolished several tanks and armored cars in an instant, after which the black squadron flew past the group of enemy vehicles and into the air for an strafing run at the convoy.

The group of helicopters fired a series of missiles at the incoming black v-shaped planes in hopes of destroying or at least damaging their enemy. The black squadron however, seemed undamaged by the Helicopter's assault, and proceeded to annihilate the helicopters with a barrage of laser-fire when they got in range in a series of bright orange explosions.

The General was livid. He tired of being beaten simply because of technological superiority. General Dwight Yumimoto took out his personal phone and quickly auto-dialed a number.

"You said earlier those new planes from Capsule Corporation were ready for a test run? Well I need them now." The General said with a desperate tone.

Apparently only a day prior the CEO of Capsule Corporation, Trunks Briefs, had sent the Royal Military a squadron of proto-type fighters. The move surprised even the General, as Capsule Corporation since its founding never produced anything for the military, not even once.

"We can send them within the hour after the proper paperwork is filled out and if we hurry up safety inspections ." The voice on the other end of the phone, who sounded like a weasel of a man from the General's prospective said

"No dammit, not after inspections, not after paperwork or god knows what else you bureaucratic types want, now." General Dwight said with a tone of frustration.

"I suppose I can make an exception. Alright expect the fighters to enter the battle shortly." The voice said.

The General hanged up his phone amid the sounds of arms fire and explosions. He only hoped his forces could hold off the enemy long enough for his reenforcements to arrive.

Miles away the sleek arrowhead-shaped tan airplanes flew at hypersonic speeds to General Dwight Yumimoto's convoy. All pilots readied their craft's weapon systems as they approached the battlefield.

As the group of fighters got closer they were forced to evade an attack by an enemy squadron of fighter craft, the famed "Black Squadron" that had earned a reputation in the Royal Military as a nearly unbeatable unit.

The capsule corporation designed craft opened fire on their black-hued adversaries, and soon a full-blown dogfight occurred as the two enemy groups of airplanes fought for dominion of the skies.

Far away from the battle, on the slopes of distant Mount Paozu, another kind of convoy approached the family home of Gohan.

Near the convoy was Gohan's home, outside which was gathered Gohan himself as well as Bui, Trunks, Goten as well as Pan, who's bright red clothing and orange bandanna contrasted sharply to the darker and drabber colors of the mountain.

"It seems we have another battle on our hands." Gohan said, pondering his grandfather's words.

"In more ways than one, look!" Goten said, pointing towards the incoming Gentech vehicles.

"Gentech? Here?" Bui said, surprise evident in his tone.

"Lets see how tough these guys really are." Pan said boldly, and flew over to the approaching convoy of black vehicles.

"Pan! Don't!" Gohan yelled with alarm at seeing his daughter.

A swat-team looking trooper jumped out of the back of one of the vans and aimed some kind of rifle at Pan.

Pan dove toward the Trooper with a gloved fist aimed for the man's face, but the Trooper was the first to attack, firing a red-hued laser beam at Pan's direction.

Pan attempted to dodge the beam, but the beam still managed to strike her right arm. Pan let out a shrill cry of alarm as her strength seemed to leave her body. Pan fell to the grass below with a thud. Gohan could tell his daughter was still-conscious, but she was unable to even move because of whatever that weapon did to her.

By that time a group of perhaps thirty or so of the Swat-Team looking troopers were marching their way, and Trunks had a very bad feeling about the nature of the weapons the troopers were wielding.

"So these are human warriors. I'm not impressed." Bardock said

"They aren't physically strong, at least compared to us, but watch out for those rifles." Gohan said as he and the other fighters present prepared to engage the Gentech Swat-team in order to rescue Pan.

Before anyone could power up or transform, a full compliment of the black uniformed troopers had exited their vehicles and began to open fire on the Z-Fighters.

Gohan yelled with rage as he dodged the hail of raid beam fire, counter-attacking with a beam of his own, in this case the Masenko.

The troopers took cover behind the nearest van, which was swiftly blown to smithereens by Gohan's attack. For his efforts Gohan was rewarded by a blast to the chest from one of the troopers. Immediately Gohan felt his strength being drained, but in his rage Gohan did not simply fall to the ground helplessly.

"Gohan we have to get out of here. We don't know what we are up against." Trunks pleaded.

"Trunks has a point bro." Goten said, backing up his friend.

"I don't know what you two are afraid of. These guys are weaklings. I'll just throw a Riot Javelin their way and I guarantee they will be out of our hair." Bardock said

Meanwhile all around the world people tuned into a live news feed of the assault on the "terrorist stronghold". Gohan was seen firing at the SWAT troopers, who for the most part managed to survive the destruction of the vehicles they had been using for cover.

A female reporter appeared some distance from the fighting. The black haired young woman spoke amid sounds of explosions and laser fire.

"This is Diana Robertson of GenNews reporting live from the backwater area of Mount Paozu. Just a few minutes ago the group of terrorists using the region as a base opened fire on the anti-terrorist unit that arrived to apprehend them." The woman reporter said as the camera zoomed in on a very angry looking Gohan.

"As you can see, we believe this man to be one of the lieutenants of this terrorist group. From the information we could gather the man's name is Gohan, a teacher at Orange Star Highschool and apparently the husband to former world champion Hercule Satan's daughter Videl. Gohan has heavily injured several Swat officers and reports are already coming in that the man will be removed from his job as a teacher due to his involvement with the Z-Fighters terrorist movement." Diana Robertson said

The reporter was about to continue when a certain green armored Saiyan with an unmistakable red bandanna flew down and grabbed the microphone out of the hands of the stunned reporter.

"I don't know what kind of lies you people are spouting in your attempt to turn the people of this planet against us, but I will tell you now that we "Z-Fighters" as you say, are anything but terrorists, whatever that is. My friends here you have just randomly decided to attack have saved this entire planet countless times from enemies most of you probably never even knew existed. So cut the crap and start telling the truth, if your capable of it." Bardock said with a very serious expression as he ignored the frantic calls of the female reporter to cut the live feed.

"Sorry about that lady, I just decided to set the record straight." Bardock said with a smirk and handed the microphone back to the very surprised looking lady reporter.

Back at the battleground Gohan continued to ignore the effects of the strange beam weapons on his body.

"Trunks, Goten, get Pan as well as my wife and mother to safety, I'll keep them busy." Gohan yelled.

"Gohan if we do that who knows what will happen to you!" Goten said, not happy at all with the idea of abandoning his brother.

"Goten go now!" Gohan yelled.

Trunks went first, diving below the incoming rain of red lasers towards the paralyzed body of Pan, who was still lying on the green grass where she fell earlier.

Goten meanwhile flew quickly into his brother's home and grabbed his sister-in-law, then quickly flew out of that house and into the smaller dome of a home nearby that belonged to his mother.

Chi-Chi was oblivious to what was going on, and seemed to be doing the laundry when Goten suddenly picked her up by the back of her pick robe.

"Goten what are you doing? You let me down this instant!" Chi Chi said

"Sorry Mom but it isn't safe for you here anymore." Goten said, trying to comfort his mother.

"He is right Chi-Chi, some group of people who think we are all terrorists or something are attacking, they already shot your granddaughter." Videl said, trying to support Goten.

"Pan? Is she ok?" Chi Chi asked, concern in her voice.

"I hope so, Trunks is getting her now, we are going to meet up somewhere in the forest at the foot of the mountain." Goten said.

Nearby Trunks carried Pan under his right arm as he flew towards the forest location Goten and him had planned out in advance if an emergency happened in the area.

Back at the battlefield Gohan finally began to collapse after being hit by hundreds of the same shots that paralyzed his daughter.

Gohan managed to weakly say one last thing to his grandfather nearby before collapsing.

"Grandfather, go, better they get just get one of us than two." Gohan said weakly.

While dodging as best he could. Bardock attempted to grab Gohan but a group of the Swat team had already lifted his body into one of the still-intact black vans. Moreover a group of about five copper-colored robots stood guard in front of the vehicles.

"Gohan I will find you, I promise. As for you jokers.." Bardock said, addressing the swat team and the robots at the same time.

"Your days are numbered." Bardock said, finishing his sentence with conviction in his voice.

GenTech's hidden headquarters...

Gen Kato sat on a comfortable recliner and watched with growing amusement as the strike teams he had sent out hours earlier finally began forcing the so called Z-Fighters into a corner. He was taking a risk by involving that fool Hercule in all this. Already talking heads on the networks GenTech did not own, such as ZTV, were debating the guilt or innocence of the former world champion and man who many around the world regarded as a hero. Peaceful protests against Gentech's strike force had already sprung up.

The strike teams had orders to apprehend if possible all the Z-fighters with the exception of Trunks Briefs. It was becoming increasingly clear that bringing in Trunks would prove more difficult than originally thought.

Gen's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing. Gen groaned as he picked up the small Cell he had left on the desk.

"Why do phone calls always have to bother me when I'm most enjoying myself?" Gen said quietly to himself as he pressed the talk button on the Phone.

"This is Gen Kato speaking, who is this?" Gen asked

To Gen's surprise there was nobody on the phone, merely a text message which said "Go to our meeting place."

A feeling of anxiety washed over Gen. It had been awile since Gen had last spoken to "him". Gen never enjoyed the meetings, nor being ordered around like one of his employees. It was the price he had to pay for his position though, so Gen tolerated it.

After turning off the monitor which displayed the continued news coverage, Gen made his way to the back of the room and pressed a button which immediately opened the red elevator door. Gen quickly stepped into the elevator.

Before the elevator door closed, Gen typed in a password. The Elevator immediately after began to plummet. Plummeting downwards past all official floors of the building known to employees, Gen was going downwards into territory only he knew about.

The elevator door slowly opened to reveal an assembled army of copper-hued Kilo robots that were standing in manner that formed a corridor to the back of the room, which had a small throne-like seat whose occupier was cloaked in shadows.

Gen made his way to the back of the room and kneeled in a manner he found very humiliating in front of the throne covered in shadows.

"Ah Gen, it is good you came." The person on the throne said in an almost whisper of a voice.

"What can either I or my company do for you sir." Gen Kato asked with a tone that betrayed a slight amount of fear.

"I hear that your company has begun attacking and apprehending the Z-fighters. That is good. You remember however Gen, that the reason I wished for you to do all this was to capture Trunks Briefs." The being on the throne said with a rasping voice.

"I understand your desire to apprehend Trunks. What I don't understand is why sir." Gen asked

"So you finally ask for the truth Gen do you? Well it is quite simple. Before the realignment of time, there were many universes. In many of those parallel worlds Trunks Briefs was a time traveler. I was once also a time traveler. In one parallel Earth Trunks and I had a battle to the death to decide the fate of that Earth. Trunks won that battle. I attempted to retreat in my own time machine, but before I could fully enter the time stream Trunks badly damaged my vehicle, which came apart in the timestream." The being said.

"So what was left of you managed to find its way here." Gen said, his fear of his benefactor turning into curiosity.

"Yes. I was fortunate to discover a rift in timespace which led to this timestream. Because I entered this world at the same time as the realignment, my world's future has become this world's future. That is why we were able to open the time gate and summon portions of my robotic army." The being said

"I get it. You desire revenge on every version of Trunks still in existence." Gen said, thinking he had the answer.

"I do desire revenge yes, but I also need DNA in order to regenerate my form. I thought how fitting it be the DNA of the one that defeated me. I hope by having the DNA of Trunks, that I become stronger than I was before, as I will now have the power of the one who reduced me to my current state." The being said

"But the Trunks your after is not the same as the one who fought you." Gen said

"Your quite right, which brings me to the second reason I summoned you here Gen." The being said.

"And what would that be sir?" Gen asked in a respectful manner.

"There is a second Trunks still in existence, much more powerful than the one native to this timeline." The being said with a hiss.

"It could only mean the Trunks that fought in the Cell games has returned. But why after so many years of absence?" Gen asked, beginning to tire of bowing.

"He was likely heading back here when he was caught in the realignment and forced to return to reality, most likely much later than he intended. This is a most fortunate event Gen, if I can have the second Trunks DNA, I will be much stronger than I would if I simply took the DNA of the Trunks native to this timeline." The figure in the shadows said.

"I will make finding that Trunks a top priority then." Gen said.

"I already have another of my servants on that task. As for you Gen, bring me the Trunks of this world, even a DNA sample would suffice." The figure said

"We may have a DNA sample from Trunks in stock now that I think about it. The DNA was considered not pure enough for the creation of the Neo-Saiyans, so it wasn't used." Gen said as he raised himself to his feet.

"It has to be fresh DNA..a sample taken years ago will not work for me." The figure hissed.

"Trunks has proven difficult to apprehend, unfortunately I don't know of any foolproof methods to lure him out." Gen said with a flat tone.

"I believe I may have a solution to that problem. Focus on continuing your current efforts for now Gen." The figure said is a voice barely above a whisper.

"As you wish." Gen said

Meanwhile a millenia into the Future, above a black industrial nightmare that served as a city and under the light of a bloated red sun, Future Trunks had completed his first transformation into a Super Saiyan Three.

His body surged with far more power than the young man of twenty had ever felt. Erratic bolts of blue electricity danced around his body. Trunk's hair had spiked and lengthened down to his waist, while his eyebrows had disappeared, giving the long-haired warrior an almost primal appearance. Miraculously Trunks' favorite blue jacket had survived the transformation, in fact none of the half-saiyan warrior's clothing had been damaged in the transformation process.

Future Trunks flew within speaking distance of his opponent, a black armored warrior with white pale skin who referred to himself as "Krysis".

"You dismissed me as a weakling before, does my strength disappoint you now?" Future Trunks said with a deadly deep tone in his voice.

"You really are a surprise Trunks. All my information on you said you couldn't even reach the second stage of what you call a super saiyan. But now you have transcended my expectations and reached not only the second, but the third level of your transformation." Krysis said in a tone that suggested he was impressed.

"So are you prepared to fight me? Because I'm done holding back." Future Trunks said, gesturing Krysis forward with a wave of his right hand.

"I'm not going to be your opponent for this round. We have something much more special prepared in that regard." Krysis said with a smirk on his pale white face.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Future Trunks asked with a curious tone in his voice.

Krysis once again summoned his black claymore into his hands.

"This might be a little uncomfortable." Krysis said, then fired a rainbow colored beam from his sword at Trunks. The beam moved so fast Trunks could not avoid it, and in seconds Future Trunks found himself soaring backwards without the protection of a time machine, threw the timestream itself.

Future Trunks crash landed onto a vast field of green grass with a hard thud. Surprisingly Trunks wasn't in any pain aside from a headache, however the stress of the trip had forced Trunks to downgrade himself back to his base form.

Nearby the other Trunks was flying. The older version of Trunks and also the one native to this timeline did not seem effected physically by the battle on Mount Paozu an hour earlier. His black shirt, brown shorts and orange scarf were all intact.

After evacuating everyone to the vast wilderness near Gohan's Mount Paozu home, Trunks had decided to check back in with this parents. He felt guilty over leaving them as he had. He hated the other Trunks, but he felt his parents shouldn't have to suffer because of his resentment.

Beside Trunks flew Goten, who wore a black tanktop with his standard purple jeans. Goten went with his oldest friend to make sure if a battle broke out against a powerful enemy, that fusion would be available if the two needed to use it.

Trunks sensed a battle had broken out between his father and what he assumed was a robot, since he couldn't sense whoever was fighting Vegeta.

"Seems father hasn't even bothered to transform so far, he should be fine." Trunks said.

"You know Vegeta, he likes to toy with weak opponents before he destroys them. Actually that is kind of creepy now that I think about it." Goten said as a shiver ran down his spine.

It was then that he spotted him. To the other Z-Fighters, the one Trunks saw was a hero from an era long past. He was the one who warned against the coming of the androids, saved Goku from a heart virus, and fought against Cell. But to the Trunks of this world, the man he saw below was akin to the devil.

Rage built in Trunks at the very sight of his twin from another reality. He was tired of hearing the man's name mentioned. He was tired of being compared to this other version of him, to a standard he could never seem to meet. An idea struck Trunks. This might be his only chance to prove that he was the better Trunks, the true Trunks. With that thought on his mind, Trunks dove down, transformed into a Super Saiyan, and flew in as he prepared to attack the other Trunks, who had just rose to his feet.

"Trunks what the hell are you doing?" Goten asked his friend at seeing his sudden and to him, random powerup.

"Settling something I probably won't ever have a chance at doing again Goten." Trunks yelled

"What the heck am I supposed to do?" Goten complained as he landed some distance away

Goten could never understand the resentment his friend had towards the other Trunks. After everything he had been told about the guy, to Goten he seemed like a pretty cool person. Why his old friend would hate him for that reason, he did not completely understand, but he supposed it was like when he sometimes was compared to his older brother.

Future Trunks easily blocked his counterpart's punches. Even though he was in his normal form, Future Trunks easily could be seen as the more experienced fighter, as the man gracefully blocked, sidestepped, or ducked beneath the furious, anger-filled attacks of his opponent.

"I'm not inferior to you. I will prove it!" Trunks said, rising into the air.

"What is your problem?" Future Trunks asked as he easily avoided his opponent's attacks.

If the other Trunks had shorter hair, they would be like twins, thought Goten as he watched the battle.

"Your my problem! Every time I trained growing up, when I failed I was compared to you. When I quit training for years, it was because I couldn't meet the impossibly high standard that you created. I am threw living in your shadow!" Trunks yelled angrily, then began firing as many yellow colored energy blasts as he possibly could at his counterpart.

Future Trunks stared with a look of pity at his opponent while the blasts of energy collided around him, cloaking the area in a cloud of smoke.

In a flash, Future Trunks flew upwards and with a single uppercut to the other Trunks' chest, nearly knocked the wind out of his opponent.

"Your no match for me Trunks. It isn't your fault. You grew up in a peaceful world with a family who loved you. It is only natural that someone like me, who lived in the hell the androids created, would be the stronger fighter." Future Trunks said with a tone of compassion.

"Shut up! What do you know about me?" Trunks said, then fired a much stronger and larger energy attack than the quick weak blasts he had fired earlier.

Future Trunks was knocked into the distance, but other than his growing irritation at his counterpart, he was unharmed.

"I heard your good with a sword. Well I have a sword too." Trunks said, taking an orange capsule out of his pants pocket and pressing the button on the top.

In a puff of smoke Tapion's enchanted sword materialized in Trunk's outstretched right hand. The blade was unremarkable, looking like a typical medieval sword with an unremarkable crossguard, but the weapon had abilities that lay beyond its mundane appearance.

Future Trunks flew into the air some distance from his opponent.

"I was told your sword was an enchanted weapon used by a hero from another world, given to you after you showed compassion on the warrior and bravery in battle." Future Trunks said

"And that is why it will destroy your sword." Trunks said with barely restrained rage.

"Let's test that theory." Future Trunks said, and removed his own sword from its scabbard. To both Trunk's amazement, both fighter's weapons looked nearly identical, much like the warriors who welded them.

Trunks grabbed Tapion's Sword firmly with both hands, and charged the other Trunks head-on.

Future Trunks carefully swung his sword under his counterpart's weapon and struck strongly and quickly. The other Trunks quickly found his weapon plummeting to the ground.

Before Trunks could fly down and retrieve Tapion's Sword, Future Trunks blocked his path by holding his own weapon in front of his face, as if to show he had lost.

"A weapon is only as good as its user. Your technique with the blade is sloppy but I see potential in you. If you want, I could show you how to properly use it. As you are now you might as well be wielding nothing but air." Future Trunks said, enraging the other Trunks even further with his actions and words.

"This isn't over." Trunks said before flying over to Goten.

"If you say so." Future Trunks said with a shrug as he placed his weapon back in it's scabbard.

"Geez that other you is ridiculously good isn't he?" Goten said as Trunks got within hearing range of his friend's words.

"I need your help man." Trunks said, looking with a focused glare in Goten's direction.

"You mean fusion don't you? No way man. This guy isn't our enemy and I don't feel like helping you settle a personal grudge. Fusion isn't supposed to be used that way Trunks, you know it." Goten said with a tone of disappointment to his oldest friend.

"Come on Goten please. I'm not casually asking you for your help, this is probably one of the most important things I've ever felt I needed to do." Trunks said, begging his friend.

"Fine, but only for the thirty minutes. When the fusion is over, that is it alright?" Goten asked with a firm tone.

"You got it." Trunks said with a smile.

Future Trunks wondered what the two were talking about, but his curiosity turned to mild amusement when the other Trunks as well as his friend took up opposite yet identical poses.

"Fuse" Trunks said accompanied by the starting pose of the metamorian fusion.

"Sion" Goten said accompanied by the second pose of the metamorian fusion.

"HA!" Both Trunks and Goten said as they made their fingers connect, completing the steps for the fusion.

Both men were engulfed in a sphere of blinding white light, causing Future Trunks to shield his eyes.

"What the heck is going on?" Future Trunks asked

"Gotenks is going on." The duel-voiced fusion said.

Future Trunks confusion only grew as he saw the newcomer. Trunks could sense both the other Trunks and that man he was speaking with, but somehow this fighter had his own power signature.

The man had a very Saiyan-haircut, pointed and styled in a way very much like that of Vegeta. The middle of the man's hair was the same lavender as Trunks however. This Gotenks was well-muscled, and wore a black vest with orange trimmings, as well as a blue martial-arts style belt over white combat pants and black boots.

"Gotenks? What is this some kind of joke?" Future Trunks asked.

"I'm no joke. You my friend are another story." Gotenks said with a very Vegeta-like smirk

Suddenly Gotenks slammed a hard haymaker punch to Future Trunks' stomach, causing Trunks to double over with an expression of shock and pain. Future Trunks could not believe the strength of the attack.

Gotenks had the combination of Trunk's rage at his counterpart and Goten's desire to end this quickly, so the fusion decided he would not hold back.

"That hurt? Well it is the least you deserve. Unlike you though, I'm not going to fight with the condescending kid gloves. It is so unbecoming of a warrior like myself." Gotenks said, then yelled as he transformed into the first level of Super Saiyan.

Future Trunks had felt a sample of this new warrior's strength, and he knew that holding back would not be an option, so he faced his opponent and got into a stance as he prepared to take his own game up a notch.

"I underestimated you Trunks, father told me you were only capable of becoming a mere Super Saiyan. He said nothing of this new transformation." Future Trunks said, then yelled as his form was engulfed in a pillar of yellow light. When the light dimmed Future Trunks could be seen with ultra-spikey yellow hair and an aura of blue electricity. Future Trunks had become a Super Saiyan Two.

"My name isn't Trunks, but I will teach you that there is only one true Trunks in this world, and that is the Trunks that makes up part of my fused form!" Gotenks said, then rushed forward with an attempted punch at Future Trunks.

Future Trunks dodged Gotenk's attack, countering with a whirlwind kick to the left side of the fusion's ribcage. Gotenks managed to catch Trunks right foot before the kick landed, and began spinning Trunks around and around.

"Round and round the fake Trunks goes, where he lands nobody knows!" Gotenks said before throwing Future Trunks as hard as he could into the distance.

Gotenks then followed up his attack by flying over the soaring Trunks and yelling.

"Ultra Fake Trunks Volleyball!" Gotenks said sending bizarre energy beams into Future Trunks, who then felt himself trapped inside a beehive-like ball.

"What the heck?" Future Trunks thought.

"How should I finish this attack? Oh I know!" Gotenks said, then slammed the ball down towards the ground with both fists.

Before the ball hit the ground Future Trunks managed to gather enough strength to break out of his prision. Future Trunks then aimed and fired one of his signature moves at Gotenks.

"Finish Buster!" Future Trunks yelled, sending a yellow beam of energy in Gotenks direction.

"Oh I like this game! Take my Big Tree Cannon on for size!" Gotenks said before firing a beam attack that to Future Trunks seemed very similar to Vegeta's Final Flash.

Gotenks' Big Tree Cannon soon collided with Future Trunk's Finish Buster, and the two warriors began a beam struggle as each attempted to overpower the other's attack.

"This is ridiculous. As a mere Super Saiyan this guy is stronger than me as an Ascended Saiyan?" Future Trunks said as he pushed his power level up in an attempt to overpower Gotenks' attack with his own.

Future Trunks beam seemed to be the stronger of the two attacks, as it slowly but surely got closer and closer to Gotenks himself.

"That's not good. Guess I'll have to take desperate measures to beat this pretender." Gotenks said as he allowed Future Trunks beam to collide with him.

Future Trunks was not fooled, he knew Gotenks was not beaten, and within seconds of the explosion caused when the Finish Buster struck the fusion Future Trunks saw Gotenks reappear without even a scratch nearby on a grassy hill.

"Ya know this battle takes me back to when I fought Buu." Gotenks said, seemingly ignoring Future Trunks, an act which irritated the young man.

Future Trunks drew his sword once again. If this Gotenks wanted to play violent, then Future Trunks was happy to comply.

It had been years since Trunks had used this attack. It was a complicated combination of sword and energy technique he called the Burning Attack. The last time Future Trunks had used this technique was against Frieza years ago. The move had proven the final end for the icy tyrant, a fact Future Trunks was quite proud of. Now as an Ascended Saiyan, or Super Saiyan Two as his father referred to it as, Future Trunks wondered just how much stronger the attack would be then it was the last time he used it.

Future Trunks threw his sword high into the air, then moved his hands and arms in a complicated series of gestures.

"I like the Jackie Chan routine I really do, but I have a move of my own I'd like you to see." Gotenks said, yawning at Future Trunks as the later prepared his most dangerous attack, a fact that was unknown to the fusion.

Trunks caught his sword in a blindingly fast maneuver, then rushed forward with a deadly sword slice aimed for Gotenk's midsection.

The fusion playfully leapt into the air, avoiding Future Trunks attack completely, and then laughed in a very child-like manner at Trunks.

"I'm getting tired of your attitude. You should take battle a little more seriously." Future Trunks said with a smirk, sword in hand.

Suddenly Gotenks noticed a gaping wound in his left side. Gotenks moved his hand over the wound, feeling pain as he did so. After Gotenks looked at his hand again he noticed blood.

"You didn't think I would attack you head on without using an after-image did you? Only amateurs would do something like that." Future Trunks said

Deciding he wouldn't let his opponent respond, Future Trunks got into melee range and slammed Gotenks in the jaw with an uppercut. Before the fusion could react Trunks swung his left leg around and struck the fusion in his still-fresh wound with a fierce kick.

Gotenks doubled over from the attacks, but Future Trunks was not quite done yet. Trunks hit Gotenks rapidly with both fists, then yelled as he slammed a point-blank energy attack into the fusion's stomach.

Gotenks went flying into a grassy hill nearby and struck the ground violently. At seeing this Future Trunks placed his sword back in it's scabbard.

"That was weird." Future Trunks said

Suddenly Trunks saw something that surprised him. Gotenks pushed himself to his feet.

"You made me bleed! Nobody has ever hurt me like that before! You think I'm a joke don't you?" Gotenks said, the anger in his voice seemingly accompanied by the rising level of power Trunks could sense.

"Well you don't act like a fighter, you act like some kind of circus clown, no offense." Future Trunks said

"A clown huh? I'll show you just how wild I can be then! Time for Super Saiyan Three!" Gotenks said as he began to yell, his power beginning to skyrocket.

"Oh no." Future Trunks said as Gotenks hair lengthened down to his waist and his eyebrows disappeared.

"Oh yes!" Gotenks said after completing his transformation.

The fusion glared at Future Trunks with a mixture of what seemed to be amusement as well as rage.

"Since I want you to know what it feels like to be beaten when your doing the best you can against me, I will allow you to reach your maximum power you pretender." Gotenks said

Future Trunks did not know if he could beat this Gotenks even at his ultimate level of power. Gotenks seemed to never tire and his best moves had barely made the fusion bleed. Nevertheless Future Trunks was determined not to lose, he didn't know if it was the pride he inherited from his father or a desire to prove he was the superior Trunks. Regardless he got in a combat stance and began powering up.

Unlike Gotenks, whose transformation had occured relatively quickly and nonviolently, as Trunks pushed himself beyond Super Saiyan Two the ground beneath his feet rose into the air in the form of large boulders, and the sky directly above Trunks parted ways until the void of space was seen, if however briefly. With a loud yell Trunks felt his eyebrows recede and his hair grow until it went past his waist.

With a clap of thunder and a bolt of lightning Future Trunks completed his transformation.

Trunks no longer feared Gotenks. The fusion was indeed strong, but in his new form, Future Trunks knew the difference in the two's power was in his favor.

"Alright circus clown, show me what you got." Future Trunks said, taunting Gotenks

"Super Ghost Kamikaze..Balloon!" Gotenks said, spitting a large white sphere into existence above.

"You can continue to play all the games you want, but I'm finishing this little game." Future Trunks said, rushing forward beneath the white balloon-like object.

"Wait I wasn't ready!" Gotenks protested, but was ignored by Trunks as the later continued his advance.

"Here is a new move, just for you. Burning Helix Tornado!" Future Trunks roared, unsheathed his sword and slammed it into the ground in front of Gotenks.

Suddenly twin spirals of flaming energy erupted from the ground and twisted up into the sky. The flaming helix soon spun at such a velocity that it became a flaming tornado. All the confused ghosts that popped out of Gotenk's balloon as well as Gotenks' himself were caught up in the attack.

Standing back, Super Saiyan Three Future Trunks saw his handiwork as a huge explosion occurred in the center of the twister.

"Caught by your own attack, you really were a clown Gotenks. Nice playing with you, but I have more important things to do." Future Trunks said, powering down to his basic form and putting his sword once again in it's scabbard.

Trunks was about to walk away, when he heard a cough.

"Where...do...you think your going...you bastard?" A familiar voice said

Future Trunks turned to see the unconscious form of that black-haired man from earlier, his cloths ripped and a wound in his left side, as well as the other Trunks, who struggled to get up and was breathing heavily.

"It is over give it up. I suggest you take your friend to a doctor and quit trying to prove your superior to me." Future Trunks said to his counterpart.

"No..it is not over. It will never be over until I show you I'm the real Trunks!" Trunks said with anger and determination in his voice.

Future Trunks raised his voice in a rare display of anger.

"You want to be superior to me? Go right on thinking that you ungrateful poor excuse for a Saiyan." Future Trunks said, getting sick of the other's attitude and actions.

"What did you say?" Trunks said, his anger now on the level of rage.

"You had a perfect life, you knew both your parents. You grew up having a lot of friends. Your jealous of me? I was jealous of you until this battle. I grew up in hell. I had nearly everyone I cared about taken by a pair of soulless machines. You think you had it rough growing up? You know nothing of hardship you spoiled rotten brat." Future Trunks yelled at his counterpart.

"I always have lived in your shadow! I'm tired of it! Tired of you!" Trunks said with rage in his voice.

"You want to know something? I am superior to you and you want to know why? I would never hurt a friend regardless of the circumstances." Future Trunks said with a now calm voice, and then flew off, leaving the other Trunks to look at the unconscious and wounded body of his closest friend.

Sometime after Future Trunks had left, Trunks looked and thought about what he had done.

As Trunks looked at Goten, tears welled up in his eyes. He felt a combination of rage, hatred, guilt, and sorrow.

Trunks limped over to his friend's body. He didn't feel any power from his friend. Trunks bent over, kneeling in front of his friend's prone body, and felt his friend's pulse. It was weak. Trunks then saw the open wound. Goten was blinding badly.

"What..what have I done?" Trunks said as anguish overcame him.

Trunks heard footsteps behind him. Turning, Trunks saw a man who resembled Bui, but looked abit older. The man had the same long platinum blond white hair as Bui, but his choice of clothing was much more formal. The man had a white tuxedo and an equally white tie. Even the man's shoes were white.

"Hello Trunks my name is Gen Kato. I believe you know my brother?" Gen said with a friendly smile.

"Yes he said your an evil psychopath" Trunks said with a weak voice.

"Well I can understand the evil part, but don't you think psychopath is abit insulting to someone of my intellect?" Gen said

"I'm not really in a good mood, what is it you want exactly?" Trunks asked.

"Well your friend needs medical attention, which I can provide. Also Trunks, I wanted to offer you a deal. You see, there is someone very special who would love to meet you. He can grant your desire to prove your superiority over the pretender that is claiming to be you. You just need to come with me." Gen said with a smile, offering Trunks a white gloved hand.

Trunks hesitated, but took Gen's hand.

Gen helped Trunks to his feet, then gestured behind him some distance to a white helicopter parked at a flat area of grass with a black "GenTech" logo on its surface.

Against Trunks better judgment he followed Gen into the vehicle, sitting down at the back in a fine white cushioned seat. Gen took the seat in front of Trunks. After both men strapped themselves in, the vehicle took off, taking them to a spot over the ocean somewhere.

Suddenly Trunks saw a helipad appear from beneath the waves, which the vehicle landed on. Some kind of force field went up as the landing pad descended down into the ocean. After about a minute the door to the vehicle opened.

Gen stepped out first, and offered Trunks a hand in getting out of the vehicle, which the tired and emotionally broken Trunks eagerly took.

"So what is this place and where are we going?" Trunks asked with a tired voice.

"This is my company's hidden headquarters, which I am taking a big risk showing you." Gen said.

To Trunk's surprise there was no landing crew, no hired help.

"So why did you bring me here anyway, other than this friend of yours that wants to meet me?" Trunks asked

"Because I know what your going threw. You grew up the rich heir of a successful company, yet for your parents that was never enough was it?" Gen asked.

"No. I was always pushed to train, always compared to the other Trunks." Trunks said with a hint of sorrow.

"Well we are two of a kind then my friend. You see, my younger brother was what you could say, a child prodigy. When I was seventeen, I managed to invent a more efficient form of fuel, while my brother, at ten years old, invented a brand new energy source from scratch. I was compared to Bui, asked why I couldn't be as smart as him. I'm happy to say that while Bui had the booksmarts, he didn't have any idea how to run a company. But I do. I proved myself Trunks, and I can help you prove yourself as well." Gen said with a reassuring smile.

"If you mean that, I'll do whatever you say." Trunks said, much to the delight of Gen.

"I'm pleased to hear that, now follow me." Gen said, leading Trunks into a door at the far end of the small undersea hangar.

Trunks was lead past rooms that had walls that were transparent, showing the vast blue beauty of the ocean. Trunks saw a school of small red fish swim by, followed by a large black shark. In the distance, Trunks saw some sort of whale.

"I love this particular headquarters of ours the most. The walls are composed of a rare element which we haven't yet shared with the public. It allows you to have stronger than steel walls, while still having a view of the ocean outside." Gen said as the pair walked ever forward.

"You guys are way more advanced than Capsule Corporation. I think our last big invention was the capsule itself...since then, most of the big things, spaceships and such, haven't been revealed or released to the public." Trunks said, opening up to Gen a bit more

"And isn't that such a waste? Earth could have a trade empire amongst the stars, we could solve overpopulation, hunger, war, and all that ails the world if space travel were open to the average citizen. I'm curious as to why your company has not seen this truth?" Gen asked as the two exited the tunnel with the view of the ocean and entered some kind of elevator terminal.

As Gen walked towards the orange elevator, Trunks answered.

"My mother designed our last couple starships, she told me that she did not believe most average people on earth were ready for serious space travel. At the time, I respected that decision." Trunks said

"But you are beginning to have second thoughts aren't you?" Gen asked as he stepped into the elevator, gesturing Trunks to follow.

Both men got on the elevator, Gen then quickly entered a series of numbers on an exposed side panel, after which the elevator began its journey downwards.

"I believe my mother wants the company to remain the same as when my grandfather controlled it. I don't think the company will survive unless it changes and starts doing things differently." Trunks said

"That was basically what I told my father before he handed the company to my brother. Two years ago when the company's stocks nearly flatlined, my brother finally decided to take the company in a new direction. You saw his Neo-Saiyan disaster right?" Gen asked Trunks as the elevator continued its descent.

"Yeah, I take it that wasn't what your company intended." Trunks said

"No, and it ended up being the disaster it was because my brother rushed the research. He gave the scientists in the original Neo-Saiyan project a year to prefect the process, when two or three years were probably required." Gen said as the elevator came to a stop.

"So here we are. Must be an important secret to be hidden so far underground." Trunks said

"Oh it is. Follow me Trunks." Gen said.

The two walked down the subterranean corridor of limestone and rock until they entered a vast chamber filled with copper-hued robots. At the end of the room was a throne, although Trunks couldn't see if there was anyone sitting on it.

Behind the throne Trunks could see a large ring-like machine, at the moment the device seemed to be inactive.

Gen and Trunks walked past all the metal soldiers, who ignored them, and made their way to the throne.

"Master I have brought you Trunks Briefs, as you requested." Gen said with a pleased tone in his voice.

"Master?" Trunks asked, having a bad feeling suddenly.

"Yes, this being is the one responsible for my company's rise to the top. He promised me success in return for carrying out the occasional errand, oh and letting his friends into this world from the time tunnel." Gen said

"Trunks I sense your anger and desperation. You desire to overcome the other being who calls himself Trunks, and prove yourself. Yet you lack the power to accomplish this. You desire to be able to defeat your adversary without involving any of your friends. Is all this correct?" The shadowy being on the throne asked in a voice that was close to a whisper.

"Your right on all accounts. One question though. Just who are you anyway?" Trunks said after gathering the courage to ask.

"I suppose since you are about to enter into an agreement with me you have the right to know my name. I am called Krysis. I was once much like yourself Saiyan. My people, the Pariahans were once said to be an offshoot of the Saiyan race." Krysis said in his whispering voice.

"Your Krysis? I thought that armored guy who leads all of your machine soldiers into battle in the future was Krysis?" Gen asked, confusion in his voice.

"You speak of Terra, my head general and bodyguard. For my own safety he poses as me unless I want my identity known to someone. Now Trunks, are you willing to accept my terms in return for giving you the power to defeat your enemy?" Krysis asked

"What terms would those be?" Trunks asked, feeling he had crossed a point of no return.

"You will lead my Neo Saiyan warriors against all your former comrades after defeating the other Trunks. In addition, we must discuss the method by which I will grant you the power you desire." Krysis said.

"I'm listening." Trunks said

"The only way we can bring out more power from you is if you undergo the Neo-Saiyan process yourself. Physically you will find you won't change much, however you will find the power you possess will be at least four times your current maximum. What is holding you back now isn't just your lack of training, but also your genetic structure. The human and saiyan parts of your DNA are combined at random. Once that is corrected we can grant you much power from your genes alone." Gen said, explaining what Trunks would have to go threw.

"Are these terms acceptable?" Krysis asked as he held out a black gloved hand, hoping for Trunks to shake it.

"I agree to your terms, against my better judgement." Trunks said, and shook the hand of Krysis.

As soon as Trunks touched Krysis' hand, he felt his body go numb. Trunks immediately fell to the ground.

"Don't worry Trunks I'll make you better than you've ever been." Gen said with a smile as two of the Kilo robots lifted Trunks off the floor.

Trunks lost consciousness, but awoke inside some sort of tank, blue fluid surrounded his body. Trunks noticed his shirt, shoes, and scarf had been removed. He also noticed he was unable to move or generate any kind of energy. He was able to breathe by a mask connected to a larger breathing device.

"Hello Trunks I see you have awakened. It would have been better if you slept threw the transformation, but there really isn't anything I can do about that now. " Gen said over an intercom loud enough that Trunks heard it threw the tank and the liquid.

Trunks heard the faint sound of a power generator activating, followed by a computerized voice saying "Initiating Neo Saiyan transformation process."

Trunks was immediately overcome by the most intense pain he had ever felt as energy of some kind bombarded his body from all angles of the tank. Trunks wanted to scream, but the breathing mask prevented that. As the agonizing process went on the pain seemed only to increase. Trunks felt his short lavender hair grow out until it was at waist length. While that occurred Trunks also felt a tail grow as his spine elongated.

Meanwhile, back in the cavern, Krysis was very pleased.

The dark figure seemed to be changing as the energies of his throne used the stolen DNA of Trunks to recreate the dark figure's original form. Krysis was surrounded by a bright red glow which illuminated the entire chamber.

Krysis could feel new muscles growing, new skin forming. Soon he would be whole again. Soon he would be young again.

Soon the future would be rewritten in blood as he began a new reign of terror around the galaxy.

Soon all would know his name...and tremble.

...

_That chapter was longer than I thought it was going to be. You ever get that feeling when you do something that you should just keep on doing it? Well that was how I felt in the process of writing this chapter. I hope everyone enjoyed it. _

_lunar2eternal I appreciate the constructive critism and I will make my best effort to improve._

_As for everyone else thankyou for reading. As always, reviews are appreciated. _


	5. Shades of Crimson

Futures Trunks flew towards West City, his encounter with the other Trunks still a vivid memory in his mind. Trunks could understand mere resentment, but the utter hate the other Trunks showed towards him, something that motivated the man to even drag his friend into his vendetta, troubled him. Could it be that someone was somehow enhancing the feelings his counterpart felt towards him, causing mere resentment to turn into something far bigger? Or was the Trunks of this world really holding that much hate in his heart? These were questions Future Trunks could not answer.

As Trunks approached the city, he saw smoke rising from a section of buildings. Nearby his Father was battling someone, that much Trunks could sense. Reminded of the attacks of the androids, Trunks felt an immediate sense of compassion, and so decided to see if anyone in those damaged buildings needed help.

Immediately Trunks sensed two weak energy signatures from what looked like the remains of a small apartment. Trunks flew down towards the partly destroyed yellow building and looked around. Seeing a partly caved in room to the side of the area, Trunks decided to enter from that direction.

It did not take him long to find what he sensed earlier. Two young children, no older than maybe nine or ten years old, were sitting in fear at the far corner of the room. Both children had messy brown hair and tattered brown clothing. Orphans Trunks realized from the looks of it.

In all the battles he had fought, with all the power he had gained, Trunks often wondered about the implications of his very existence. For most people on Earth, someone like Trunks would be viewed as something akin to a god with all the power he had. Trunks knew, with just one gesture he could destroy a planet if he wanted to. With that in mind it could be difficult to remember just exactly who he fought for. Often lost in all the battles was the innocent, the weak, and the helpless. Trunks always had to remind himself that this was why he fought, these people were why he trained. Because everyone, no matter how small, no matter how seemingly insignificant, was precious. They all deserved to live, free from fear, to pursue whatever dreams they held.

Trunks drew closer to the two orphans, who seemed to be in a great amount of fear.

"Do not worry, I'm not your enemy. My name is Trunks, I'm a friend." Trunks said with a warm smile.

At seeing Trunks' sword, the boy spoke up.

"Are you here to make the bad guys go away?" The boy asked.

"It's my job." Trunks said with a tone of assurance.

"The metal man came. All our friends, they are gone now." The boy said with tears in his eyes.

"Metal man?" Trunks asked with a growing feeling of dread.

"The metal man came and made all our friends go away when the man with the long hair wouldn't fight." The boy said.

"_So father was attacked by someone, and knowing that innocents would suffer if they battled in the city, Vegeta had attempted to lure his opponent out of the area where there was nobody to get in the way. Instead, the metal man or whatever he was, attacked an orphanage. Classy." _Trunks thought to himself, anger welling up inside him at the idea of someone attacking children.

"I can get you two to safety, but you have to trust me" Trunks said

The children, having faith in him, crawled over to Trunks from under the damaged ceiling. Trunks held both children tightly before speaking again.

"You two ever fly before?" Trunks asked with a smile.

"Fly? You mean like a superhero? Of coarse not." The boy said.

"Well hold on tight, because this will be your first time." Trunks answered.

Both children had looks of disbelief, that was until Trunks took off into the sky. Trunks flew out of West City and into the grassy countryside which was a fair distance from the danger Trunks estimated.

"This is awesome!" The boy said, his sister had a look of amazement on her face, but still refused to speak.

Trunks put the children down. Originally he planed on leaving and seeing if his father needed help, but both his concern for the children and his knowledge of his father's pride made him decide to remain and look after the two orphans.

Nearby a certain Prince of Saiyans stared down a mechanical silver knight.

"If you were really the great warrior you claim to be Mega, then why would you choose to hide behind those who have nothing to do with our battle?" Vegeta asked, his yellow super saiyan aura appearing as a brilliant golden flame which seemed to reflect the Prince's anger.

Vegeta and his opponent had not truly traded blows yet, as such Vegeta had no idea how strong this Mega robot truly was. As a precaution he had transformed into his most basic super saiyan transformation, with the idea that should the need arise he could always ascend further if need be.

"You want to know why I have involved this city's civilian population? It is quite simple. My mission is not to simply kill you saiyan, it is also to give you and your friends a negative image in the eyes of the world. It does not matter who destroyed that children's hospital or the orphanage, you will be blamed for it." Mega said in a cold tone, devoid of compassion or remorse.

"Well in that case If I finish this quickly you won't have much material to go with for your propaganda." Vegeta said with a grin.

"Do not underestimate me Vegeta. I am far superior to the Kilo units your friend Piccolo fought." Mega said with a deadly tone to his robotic voice.

Vegeta yelled and suddenly began powering up. Vegeta's golden super saiyan hair grew until it was down to the middle of his back, it's color changing to a dark brown as it did so. Reddish pink fur grew over Vegeta's arms as a monkey-like tail with the same coloration appeared. The fur on Vegeta's chest was obscured from vision by Vegeta's white saiyan armor, which covered his chest completely.

Vegeta stood as a full-power Super Saiyan Four, a form which had much more resilience, versatility, and was more powerful than the super saiyan three form that preceeded it.

"This form should be more than enough to deal with you." Vegeta said before disappearing in a burst of speed.

Mega looked around, trying to determine Vegeta's position, when Vegeta choose to reveal himself by landing a fierce uppercut to the robot's head, an act which sent the machine high into the sky.

Vegeta flew upwards with enough speed that a sonic boom was produced, and spun his left leg around in order to deliver a nasty kick to Mega's silver chest. The machine hovered in midair as Vegeta then choose to admire his handiwork.

The robot had a dent in the bottom of his head, as well as an even bigger dent on his chest.

"I hope whoever built you still has warrantee because your about to be broken." Vegeta said with a tone full of his classic sarcasm, then disappeared.

When Vegeta tried to slam a fist into and threw Mega's back, Vegeta's fist instead collided with a blue semi-transparent force field.

Mega then turned around to face Vegeta, then pointed his right fist at the saiyan prince. Mega's fist promptly changed shape, becoming a revolving missile launcher.

Vegeta quickly flew away from Mega and swiftly dodged the glowing green missiles Mega sent his way. The missiles did not simply explode when they hit the ground below, much to Vegeta's surprise. Instead each impact completely vaporized any building struck by it, leaving no hint anything was there in the first place.

"You will find that your transformation is useless against the advanced technology built into my design Vegeta. If you attempt to attack me, my force field will block your every move. And if even one of my Anti-Matter Missiles strikes you, the fight will be over and I will have won." Mega said with a tone suggesting confidence.

"Why did you let me hit you earlier then?" Vegeta asked

"To see if your power was capable of destroying me, which it is. If it were not I would not have bothered to activate my force field." Mega said

"We will just have to put that force field of yours to the test then now won't we?" Vegeta said, then held out both of his arms to either side as he built up energy for a certain attack.

"Neither energy nor physical attacks can penetrate my shield, it is useless to oppose me Vegeta." Mega said

Vegeta moved both his arms in front of him as energy gathered in the palms of his hands.

"Final Flash!" Vegeta roared, sending an enormous red colored beam in Mega's direction. In Vegeta's current form, he was able to put more power, at least ten times the usual, into the Final Flash, which caused his attack to take on a red hue.

The red beam soared into Mega, whose force field took on the appearance of a bubble as the energy soared into space harmlessly.

"So your shield is powerful, it has to have a limit." Vegeta said, keeping his distance and his guard up in case his opponent tried anything.

"It has limitations but you will be dead before you ever have a chance to find them." Mega said, opening fire on Vegeta with yet more of his anti-matter missiles.

Vegeta flew gracefully in the air as he dodged each missile. In order to prevent buildings or more importantly, lives from being destroyed by the missile's impact, Vegeta fired small blasts of energy at each missile quickly after he dodged them, causing the deadly projectiles to explode harmlessly.

This gave Vegeta an idea. Rather than continue to fly and dodge the missiles, Vegeta fired another of his attacks, in this cause the Big Bang, at a cluster of missiles right as Mega launched them.

Vegeta's sphere-shaped attack collided with the missiles and caused a chain reaction which overtook Mega in a large explosion.

When the smoke in the air cleared, there was no sign of Mega, and it appeared the machine had taken himself out with his own weaponry.

"Not bad saiyan but you will find destroying me is not such an easy task." A robotic voice with an English accent said from behind Vegeta, who immediately turned to see his silver opponent completely unharmed.

"But I saw you explode!" Vegeta said, confusion in his voice.

"You saw a hologram. I am assuming that because you see me as a machine that you assume I am incapable of creativity or strategy? Your arrogance is painfully obvious." Mega said, talking down to Vegeta.

Vegeta was silent, he was assessing the situation, thinking of a strategy that might work against his opponent, so he allowed the machine to speak and did not attempt to attack..for the moment.

"In the time period I hail from, all soldiers that serve our master and his glorious empire well have the option of continuing their existence before death sets in as machines. Our minds and souls are transfered to bodies that will never age or wear down. In fact only the Kilo units are completely artificial. This is an order which we will soon establish in this time period, thereby preventing the endless centuries of war that eventually will turn Earth into a burnt out husk." Mega said

"So you believe you have the best intentions for Earth and think that only by taking over will the Earth be saved right?" Vegeta asked

"That is correct saiyan. You may think my words are those spoken by a soldier who only follows orders, but I assure you my master and we his servants are saving the Earth and its people from themselves. If allowed to live as they are endless warfare and ever more advanced weapons technology will bring a premature end to the human race and the Earth. This is not speculation. This is history. I have already seen it with my own eyes." Mega said with a hint of sorrow in his voice.

"Ever hear that the road to hell is paved with good intentions?" Vegeta asked

"You may doubt and oppose us Vegeta, but you cannot win." Mega said as his left arm suddenly changed into a cannon which was immediately pointed at Vegeta.

"This is an anti-matter cannon. It is like the missiles I have been using, only far more focused and far more powerful. I will give you two choices. Either you allow it to hit you, after which your atoms will be destroyed completely, or you allow the cannon to hit the city below. Trust me when I say that it won't be pretty." Mega said

Vegeta now had a good idea just how powerful this Mega robot was. He was grimly aware of the limitations his Super Saiyan Four form had with battling his opponent. The transformation was amazingly powerful, but even Vegeta's strongest attack in this form could not penetrate a mere forcefield. He would have to use his secret weapon, there was no choice in the matter.

"Go ahead and shoot." Vegeta said with a smile.

"I see you realize the futility of opposing me. Very well Vegeta, I will remember you as a worthy opponent, farewell." Mega said as energy gathered in the barrel of his Anti-Matter Cannon.

Vegeta crossed his arms in front of his chest. He would have to time this perfectly, otherwise Mega's weapon would destroy him.

Mega's entire body was flung a small distance backwards from his cannon's recoil as the yellow beam of anti-matter was sent on a collision coarse with Vegeta. Exactly the same second the beam collided with the saiyan prince, what resembled a white star came into existence above the city.

Mega scanned the object with his on board database, trying to find out exactly what was happening. When the star dimmed to reveal Vegeta, Mega had a good idea what had transpired.

Vegeta now had silver fur and hair which was a nearly white silver in coloration. An blue aura that resembled a flame surrounded Vegeta, whose eyes burned with a blue fire.

"Impossible, how did you survive a collision with pure anti-matter?" Mega asked, surprise in his voice.

"In this form I am above being destroyed by such simple tricks. Now Mega, let us see if your force field will hold out against me now." Vegeta said, then flew at Mega, rushing toward the silver machine.

Vegeta's fist collided with Mega's force field.

"Even in that state you still cannot penetrate my barrier." Mega said.

"Lets test that theory." Vegeta said with a grin as he put more power and effort into his push.

Mega suddenly flew some distance away from Vegeta, his body suddenly pouring out smoke from several areas.

"Whats wrong? Run out of batteries?" Vegeta taunted.

"If I continue fighting you it will result in my destruction, so I'm ending this battle. However I still have a job to do." Mega said, pointing his gun arm into the sky.

Vegeta thought of several possible ways he could stop whatever Mega was going to do, however he still had the force field to consider. Amazingly enough, even Vegeta's most powerful saiyan form still could not penetrate Mega's barrier, not without considerable effort.

"What is about to happen will be blamed on you, your friends, and your family Vegeta. Its nothing personal, we just need the people of Earth to hate you." Mega said as energy built in the barrel of his gun.

"Antimatter Volley!" Mega yelled as he fired a ball of yellow energy into the sky. Seconds after it was fired the ball began to rain small yellow beams of antimatter down towards the city.

Franticly Vegeta used his rapid fire technique to shoot as many of the falling antimatter beams as he possibly could. It soon became clear that Mega would not be satisfied until his attack did its terrible work on the city below, just so he and his associates could have material for propaganda. The very thought of it infuriated Vegeta.

Vegeta had managed to save the city, but nevertheless several buildings had been wiped out by the antimatter. Mega had retreated the scene, and Vegeta was left thinking what the consequences of this battle would be.

As much as Vegeta wanted to chase after that metal coward, his loved ones came first, so Vegeta choose instead to check in with purposely dropped his power level, his form reverting first to each previous stage of Super Saiyan before he finally was his normal self again.

As Vegeta flew back towards the area of the city Capsule Corporation's headquarters was located in, Mega floated some distance away admiring his handiwork.

Mega opened a communication channel, deciding to report the status of his mission to his superiors.

"Headquarters, this is Mega unit 001 reporting success in mission 0749." Mega said

It took several seconds before a voice responded to Mega's report.

"This is Giga unit 001. Excellent work Mega. Was Vegeta any problem?" Giga asked over the channel.

"Affirmative sir. Vegeta would have terminated me if I had decided to continue to engage him. He has access, as we feared, to the fifth level of Super Saiyan." Mega said as he floated over a grassy plain some distance from the city.

"Then he will be elevated to an S-class target. Do not attempt to engage him again Mega, even I would be easily defeated by Vegeta. We will be getting reinforcements soon which should be able to eliminate the stronger Z-fighters." Giga said

"Understood sir. I will proceed on secondary mission than. Is it known where Bardock, Bui Kato or Pan are currently hiding?" Mega asked.

"Somewhere in the wilds of Mount Paozu, that is all we currently know." Giga said

"Then that will be where I will go next sir." Mega said

Meanwhile..in one of GenTech's hidden headquarters.

Gen Kato was happy. He had captured both of the sons of Goku. The youthful white clad man paced back and force in front of the two half-saiyans, who were both chained against the wall in the dimly lit room.

Gohan turned his head as best he could, seeing his unconcious and injured brother chained, much like he was, against the metallic wall.

"What did you do to my brother?" Gohan asked, fury his voice.

"We did nothing. If you want someone to blame for Goten's condition, blame Trunks." Gen said with the hint of a smile on his face.

Gen relished the thought of the Z-Fighters turmoil when they discovered Trunks' betrayal. Give him thousands of cable channels and he couldn't find better entertainment than that of seeing once trusted friends turn against each other. There was few things in the world that made Gen so happy.

"Trunks would never betray us like that. He would most certainly never hurt Goten, he is like a brother to him." Gohan said

"I'm not surprised you don't believe me Gohan. Perhaps Trunks himself could tell you the truth, but not yet." Gen said

"What is your problem anyway? We never did anything to you. Especially Krillin or Master Roshi, they were content to live the rest of their lives in peace." Gohan said

"I'll tell you why Gohan. It is because I want money, power, and influence. I'm not content to live out my life like everyone else does, I never have been. When you want power or money one of the best ways is to create a crisis. When people are afraid, they are more likely to look for people to lead them, rather than thinking logically." Gen said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall opposite Gohan.

"Your a maniac!" Gohan said, nearly yelling.

"I'm so sick of being called insane, could you people give it a rest already? Anyway, I was always planning on using you Z-Fighters as the scapegoat. Your an easy target." Gen said with a grin.

"Why would you think that?" Gohan asked as he fought against his chains.

"Because its not everyday people see guys who can shoot energy attacks or fly. Your father in law, Mr. Satan, used the crisis with Cell to make himself more rich and famaos. However his fame shielded you and your friends for years against the likely scare your existence would generate. I'm pulling back the curtain on your little hero act and showing the world exactly what kind of a menace beings such as you really are." Gen said

"We saved this planet dozens of times!" Gohan yelled, his anger about ready to explode.

"It doesn't matter. The average person in this world doesn't know about your battles with Frieza, Broly, or Cell. You even erased people's knowledge of Buu with the dragonballs. Didn't think I'd know about that did you?" Gen said

Gohan was speechless, which Gen took as a sign to continue speaking.

"I think you'll find when people discover exactly what you and your friends are capable of, they will not think of you as heroes." Gen said with a smile.

Suddenly the cell phone in Gen's shirt pocket began to ring.

"Gohan I apologize but our little talk will have to end for now." Gen said before picking up his phone.

"This is Gen. The Neo-Saiyans are complete? Excellent I will be right there." Gen said, hanging up the Cell.

"See you later Gohan. By the way, don't bother trying to escape, trust me." Gen said before walking away.

Somewhere else in the Gentech facility, Gen had arrived in the chamber containing the six capsules, each containing blue fluid as well as a single humanoid occupant. Gen went to Trunks' chamber first.

Looking over his technologies work, Gen was pleased with how Trunks turned out. Trunks' was still unconscious, but it looked very different from before. Trunks retained his slim figure, but he now had a light amount of muscles. Also his hair had grown out, and was now an almost orange red hue in coloration. Finally, Trunks now had a long tail, which was also a reddish orange in color.

Gen pressed a series of buttons on some kind of control console, and immediately the blue fluid drained out of Trunks' capsule. Trunks' eyes opened suddenly at that moment, startling Gen.

"Ah Trunks, your awake. How do you feel?" Gen asked while glancing at the control console.

Trunks stood and looked at his hands, opening and slowing them.

"I've never felt so good in my life." Trunks said as his face twisted into a smile.

"I will allow you to leave and take down the other Trunks if you wish, but you have to promise me something Trunks." Gen said, staring with his blue eyes directly into Trunks' eyes.

"As long as I have my rematch with that pretender, I really could care less about anything else." Trunks said as he stepped out of the capsule.

"Even if it means the other Neo-Saiyans take down your father?" Gen asked. Gen had to be certain that the new personality Trunks had been given was in place.

When all the volunteers for the Neo-Saiyan process underwent their own transformation, each one had been given a new personality to better serve their role as elite soldiers. Trunks was no exception to this. Any feelings of attachment did not carry over in the subject's "rebirth". Each was loyal only to Gen, and would obey any orders given to the best of their ability. Even if one of the Neo Saiyans somehow broke free and their original selves resurfaced, a device implanted on each of the subject's hearts would prevent them from going rogue.

Another words, Trunks would die if he betrayed the company.

Trunks looked at Gen a moment before answering.

"If he is your enemy he is my enemy as well. You gave me a new life Gen, the least I could do to repay you is follow your orders." Trunks said.

"Good to hear, now take this." Gen said as he tossed a small black capsule to Trunks, who promptly caught the small object.

"What is this?" Trunks asked

"You will be known as Toran from now on, that capsule I gave you contains your new uniform." Gen said with a business-like tone in his voice.

"Thank you sir, I will wear my new name with pride." Trunks now Toran said as he pressed the release button on the small capsule he was given.

From the capsule came a suit of black saiyan-style armor, which "Toran" quickly put on. Like Vegeta's newest armor, this black suit had no sleaves. The shoulder guard, as this armor had but one on the left side, was a deep red in color. The pants that came with the armor shared the deep red coloration of the armor. On the right chest area of the armor was Gentech's symbol, which was a stylized G over a larger T in cursive script. Both letters in the logo had what looked like the symbol of a sun behind them. Black boots completed the suit, and when Trunks had put the entire suit on he resembled some secret police or enforcer in a tyrannical regime from ages past.

"May I leave no sir? I want to finish off the pretender as soon as possible." Toran asked.

"Do as you will, I have to release the others." Gen said, dismissing Trunks.

"Thankyou sir." Toran said, walking away.

Meanwhile..far away in the depths of space a certain Namekian warrior stood on a sandy desert world.

Piccolo had chosen this world because it had no sentient life. The world's three blue suns beat down on the world's violet-hued sand. If Piccolo were an artist, he might appreciate the rugged and somewhat lonely beauty of the world, but Piccolo was not an artist, he was a warrior with a job to do.

Placing the Black-Star Dragonballs in a circle around him, Piccolo prepared to summon Red Shenron.

Long ago this set of Dragonballs had been created by Kami before he had separated the evil from within himself, the same evil that eventually became Piccolo's father, the evil being known as Demon King Piccolo.

Now the part of Piccolo which was Kami caused Piccolo to feel an overwhelming feeling of, what was it? Sorrow. For some reason a deep feeling of sadness seemed to came off the black star dragonballs. Piccolo could not understand why.

"Because I broke his trust, condemning the dragon to live in a limbo of my own creation." A familiar voice said.

Piccolo turned his head to see the image of Kami, like a ghost in the desert. The old Namek still wore his white robe and clutched in his right hand was the staff he once held as earth's former guardian.

"Kami?" Piccolo asked, surprise in his voice.

"Have you forgotten that when we merged, my mind did not dissappear Piccolo?" Kami asked the younger Namek.

"Of coarse not, it was because of you that I had the patience to train Goten and Trunks years ago during that entire business with Maijin Buu. I just never seen you manifest physically like this." Piccolo said

"Both Nail and I could at any time appear as an image and converse with you if we choose to, but we don't simply because we respect your privacy. However Piccolo, what you are dealing with here, be very careful." Kami said with a cautious tone.

"I intend on calling the eternal dragon and wishing for a merger." Piccolo said

"That is what I wanted to tell you Piccolo. There is much about the Eternal Dragons you do not know." Kami said

"I'm listening." Piccolo said, looking down at the glimmer of the four-black star ball.

"The Dragons are agents of a higher power, they are given far more power than that which was allowed even the Supreme Kais, because they occupy a higher place in the scheme of things." Kami said

"What? You mean to tell me Shenron was a divine being all this time? I thought you created the dragon yourself?" Piccolo asked, his mind reeling.

"I created the module, a statue with a similar shape to the dragon I desired to make a pact with. If the dragon in question agrees, then he is bound to the dragonballs and must agree to any wish, unless certain circumstances cause the pact to be null and void." Kami said as a small wind picked up in the area.

"So when the dragonballs overloaded with negative energy, Shenron considered the pact over?" Piccolo asked

"That is correct. Shenron originally agreed to serve as Earth's eternal dragon in the hope that one day someone would wish his brother free from the horrible mistake I made in my youth" Kami said with sadness in his voice.

"You mean Red Shenron is Shenron's brother? What exactly did you do?" Piccolo asked.

"I bound Niiro Shenron to an imperfect set of dragonballs, by the time he agreed to the pact it was too late. Only the power of another eternal dragon can free him now. It is my biggest shame." Kami said with a tone of sadness.

"Than will wishing for a fusion release him? That is the question I need answered Kami. I believe such a thing happened between Shenron and Goku, right after Shenron departed Earth." Piccolo said

"If you merge with the Eternal Dragon, it would have to be by the Dragon's own choosing. After which you will be forevermore in service to the dragon." Kami said

"I am willing to make such a sacrifice if it means protecting the Earth and its people." Piccolo said with a voice filled with determination.

"Even if it means the Earth turns against you?" Kami asked

"It does not matter if righteousness is not the popular thing, what matters is the rightousness itself." Piccolo said

"Wise words, but I will warn you Piccolo, I sense a great evil building on Earth. I know you have sensed it as well." Kami said.

"Yes, which is why I am here surrounded by the black star dragonballs." Piccolo said.

"Well then, Niiro Shenron, arise." Kami said with a voice of authority.

The sky over Piccolo was suddenly filled with a gigantic dragon. The dragon resembled Shenron, but was a vibrant red in coloration, in contrast to Shenron's green. The dragon's enormous head stared down at Piccolo, his red eyes seemingly gazing into Piccolo's soul.

"Greetings what was it? Niiro Shenron." Piccolo said, trying to maintain his courage in the presence of such a colossal being.

Unlike when Shenron was summoned, the desert planet's sky did not darken with thunderclouds, rather the azure sky remained clear as the world's three suns continued to beat down relentlessly with their seemingly eternal rays of light.

"I KNOW WHAT YOU DESIRE MORTAL." Niiro(red) Shenron said in a deep, booming voice.

"Long ago a horrible mistake cost you your freedom. I am standing here today with the desire to grant you your freedom." Piccolo shouted to the dragon.

"IT CANNOT BE DONE. ONLY THE POWER OF ANOTHER DRAGON ETERNAL CAN UNDO WHAT HAS BEEN DONE." Niiro Shenron said with a hint of sorrow in his voice.

"What about if I pledge myself to your service in the same manner as Goku did with your brother?" Piccolo asked.

"ONLY IF I WERE FREE FROM THE PACT COULD I AGREE TO THAT." Niiro Shenron said.

"And only the power of another Eternal Dragon could grant that..I understand." Piccolo said, the beginnings of a plan forming in his mind.

"If I contacted the Nameks on New Namek, and asked them to have a wish made to Porunga for your freedom, would that work?" Piccolo asked

"IT WOULD." Niiro Shenron said, his voice seeming to brighten.

"Then I'll be right back, don't go anywhere." Piccolo said, holding two fingers to his head before disappearing.

Piccolo reappeared under the green sky of New Namek, all around him the planet's blue vegetation swayed in a gentle breeze, as though welcoming Piccolo to his homeplanet.

Piccolo looked around and saw a small Namekian village in the distance. Quickly Piccolo flew towards the village, starting several older Nameks as he entered the village.

"Sorry about that, do any of you gentlemen know where I can find Elder Moori?" Piccolo asked politely.

"I'm right here, its been awile Piccolo." Elder Moori said, walking into the area from behind a larger white building.

"I need a favor." Piccolo asked.

"You wish for us to summon Porunga correct?" Elder Moori asked with a smile.

"Yes I do." Piccolo said

"May I ask what for?" Elder Moori asked in a curious voice.

"I wish to free the Eternal Dragon called Niiro Shenron, but only another Eternal Dragon can grant such a request." Piccolo said

"I understand. I believe Porunga would be glad to do as you ask. I will have the Dragonballs brought immediately." Elder Moori said with a smile.

Piccolo may have grew up on Earth..but this world felt special to him somehow. Perhaps it was Nail, or even Kami's distant memories of home that prompted this feeling. To belong somewhere was a good feeling.

Thirty minutes later all seven Namekian Dragonballs were gathered at the center of the namekian village.

Piccolo stood beside Elder Moori as the older Namek summoned the dragon. The sky grew dark as the form of Porunga took shape, the Eternal Dragon of Namek's green body towering over the small village.

"GREETINGS. I WILL GRANT ANY THREE WISHES, TELL THEM TO ME NOW SO I MAY DEPART." Porunga said with a deep booming voice not unlike Shenron.

"I wish for you to grant the Eternal Dragon known as Niiro Shenron his freedom from a pact made long ago." Piccolo yelled.

Porunga looked at Piccolo with surprise. The dragon was used to wishes granted to help the wisher in some fashion, but this mortal wanted to help another Eternal Dragon.

"I WILL GRANT YOUR WISH NOBLE MORTAL." Porunga said before his red eyes glowed.

"Is it done Porunga?" Elder Moori asked.

"INDEED. I WOULD RETURN TO NIIRO SHENRON MORTAL, WE DRAGONS DON'T LIKE TO BE KEPT WAITING." Porunga said

"Don't worry. Thank you Porunga, and thank you Elder Moori." Piccolo said, placing two fingers on his forehead before he disappeared.

Piccolo reappeared in the circle of Black Star Dragonballs. Niiro Shenron was hovering nearby. On noticing Piccolo's return, the dragon once again turned towards him.

"I THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART MORTAL." Niiro Shenron said, gratitude evident in his voice.

"It was my pleasure. Now can you make me your servant just as your brother made Goku his?" Piccolo asked.

"I WOULD BE GLAD TO HAVE SUCH A WISE MORTAL AS MY SERVANT. I WILL AID YOU IN YOUR DESIRE TO PROTECT THE WORLD AND PEOPLE YOU LOVE, THIS IS THE LEAST I CAN DO FOR YOU." Niiro Shenron said as his eyes glowed yellow.

Suddenly the ring of dragonballs floated until they were above Piccolo. Then each of the Black Star Dragonballs, one by one, entered and merged with Piccolo's body at different points. The one and two star balls entered Piccolo's left and right leg. The three and five star balls entered Piccolo's right and left arms. The one star ball entered at Piccolo's forehead, while the six and seven star balls entered at different points of Piccolo's chest. Finally, the four star ball entered Piccolo's heart.

Waves of red energy flowed out from Piccolo's body, the Namek had never felt something so amazing in his life.

"ARISE MY CHAMPION, ARISE PICCOLO SHENRON!" Niiro Shenron said.

With a strike of lightning and a clap of thunder, Piccolo emerged a changed being.

Piccolo now wore a cape made of gold, and an outfit of deep crimson. On Piccolo's head was a new turban which was gold in color and embedded with a crimson ruby.

Red electricity flowed out from Piccolo's entire body.

Piccolo looked upwards towards Niiro Shenron with yellow eyes.

"Thankyou for granting me my request." Piccolo said with a smile.

"SHOULDN"T YOU BE GOING TO EARTH RIGHT ABOUT NOW TO HELP YOUR FRIENDS?" Niiro Shenron asked.

"Your absolutely right." Piccolo said, placing two fingers onto his head.


	6. Tragedy

The dark figure drew his sword, his opponent was a master swordsman and the figure was determined to prove that he, not Trunks was the better warrior.

"When you learn compassion for those beneath you, then and only then will you have a chance at defeating me" The man said, causing the figure to explode in a fit of rage.

Trunks was a guardian of time, a warrior dedicated to protecting timelines from beings bent on conquest or destruction. He was always seen with his large silver broadsword and golden armor. The man's hair was long and lavender in color, framing a face that was both youthful and handsome.

The guardian had fought the figure many times, as he had refused to give up his dream of building an empire on a world in his own timeline. The figure's name was Krysis, and Trunks had destroyed his time machine. Now they fought on a giant white rock that existed in between all timelines, floating eternally in the timestream like an island in the middle of the ocean.

The battles between Krysis and Guardian Trunks had gone on many years. In his own timeline Krysis had attempted to destroy Trunks by aging the sun, he had failed and soon the two returned here for the site of what became their final battle.

Krysis charged Trunks, who looked with dissapointment at him. Trunks dodged Krysis' sword and with one swing of his own blade, cut off Krysis left arm. Krysis roared in anger and pain before taking his chances and jumping off the edge of the rock, hearing Trunks yell "It didn't have to end like this!" as he fell.

The next moment Krysis found himself in a capsule filled with a strange liquid. His body had been ravaged by raw exposure to the timestream, he was a shade of his former self.

A rich young man had found him, he called himself Gen Kato, and in return for money and power, promised to heal Krysis and allow him another chance at building an empire on this world, a world that turned out to be the past of his own timeline.

Years later, Krysis had returned to his former self and thanks to his GenTech allies was closer than ever to moving his operation to this time period.

Footsteps could be heard.

Gen walked into the dark chamber of his mysterious benefactor. Strangely today all the usual robot guards were missing. Gen thought that was odd but dismissed any concerns as he walked further into the room.

Krysis had told the young CEO little of himself in the months since he had first met him. He did know that the time Krysis came from was one millenia in the future. The Earth of Krysis' time was a scorched wasteland, ruined by eons of war. Krysis wished to rebuild his empire in this era. The only price for a better future was the freedom of everyone on the planet.

Most people would not like those conditions, but Gen had no problem with them, simply because he in his heart of hearts did not intend on serving Krysis forever.

Gen kneeled at the foot of his master's throne.

"We have captured both of Goku's sons my lord. That ridiculous fool Hercule along with the others we have captured so far are in a high tech prison I designed myself." Gen said.

It pained him to grovel like this, but it was in fact part of the agreement he had made with his enigmatic master.

"It pleases me to see the amount of respect your willing to show me Gen, but I'm no longer confined to that throne." A voice unfamiliar to Gen said from behind him.

The voice was youthful sounding, and sure enough when Gen turned around to see who was speaking, he saw what looked like a teenager or young adult with short red spiky hair, light tan colored skin and black eyes. The lower part of the youth's face was obscured by a crimson mask, making Krysis appear as some sort of lethal ninja or some other sort of masked warrior.

The upper left part of the youth's chest was covered by a dark grey, almost black metal. The youth's left arm was also covered in the same substance or perhaps composed of it. The rest of the youth's upper body was bare, revealing a well muscled but lean figure. The youth wore black pants and boots, with a red sash serving as a belt.

"Your a kid?" Gen said, utterly surprised the fearful, wraith like being he was used to seeing was replaced by what looked like someone younger than him.

"Pariahans don't normally age physically past a certain point. My ancestors were used to being underestimated, and it cost them. Do you underestimate me?" Krysis asked, his dark eyes staring straight into Gen's own.

"No of..of coarse not sir. I was just surprised that is all." Gen said with a hint of fear.

Gen did not claim to be able to sense energy of any kind, but he couldn't help but feel that behind those eyes was a vast power.

Krysis paced in front of Gen while he spoke, seemingly just to hear the sound of his own voice.

"In ancient times the Saiyans underestimated my people at first too. They thought because we did not look physically impressive, that we were somehow inferior to them or weak. Gen do you know what happened?" Krysis asked darkly.

"No sir." Gen said, starting to fear this version of his master more than the previous one.

"My people conquered the Saiyans. For millenia we ruled them, and for a time my people enjoyed a golden age of peace and prosperity." Krysis said

"You said before that your people were a offshoot of the Saiyan race?" Gen asked.

The dim cavern seemed to light up, it seemed Krysis mere mood effected the room.

"We both originated on the same world long ago, but Pariahans are no more an offshoot of the Saiyan race than they are of my race. We ruled the Saiyans out of fear of our people, not because our people were kin." Krysis said, seemingly spitting the word Saiyan out of disgust.

"From what little we know of the Saiyans, they claim their homeworld was destroyed by Frieza, years after taking the planet from another race called the Tuffles." Gen said, rising to his feet.

"That world was not the original homeworld of the Saiyans. They lost their homeworld the same time my people did. Many of the strongest Saiyans secretly conspired against Pariahan rule. Those Saiyans reached levels of power that threatened the balance of power on that world. One of those rebels attempted to surpass what is now known as a Super Saiyan Three, becoming a rampaging Golden Great Ape in the process. That Saiyan never managed to regain his reason, and eventually destroyed the homeworld." Krysis said with disgust.

"Where are the rest of your people now? I'm assuming many survived, since the Saiyans eventually resettled on another world." Gen asked, crossing his arms.

"They choose a peaceful path, going against their very natures. When I refused to embrace the new ways, I was banished. I explored the universe for answers for many years. For many years after that I explored the many dimensions of the timestream as a time traveler. Eventually, tiring of my many years of wandering, I decided to carve my own empire out of the stars of one universe. Trunks ruined that plan, as you are well aware." Krysis said.

"Why then did you decide to change all of time, eliminating all other parallel dimensions?" Gen asked, genuinely curious.

"I did not change time. Time changed on its own accord." Krysis said flatly.

"Then why is there only one universe now, with time itself resembling a river?" Gen asked

"Because long ago when the being called Tlama entered this universe he caused time to become a chaotic mess, each action or inaction would cause a parallel sub dimension to form. But when the Z-Fighters lead by Vegeta destroyed Tlama a little over a year ago now, time once again became orderly." Krysis said

"_Interesting, so time changed on its own, the realignment had nothing to do with Krysis after all." _Gen thought to himself.

"Not wanting to change the subject or anything but now that you are whole again as it were, what is the next coarse of action?" Gen asked.

Gen had done all that Krysis had asked up to this point. He had armed many independently minded nations with new weapons and technology. He had begun a propaganda campaign to paint the Z-Fighters as terrorists. Finally he had many of the Z-Fighters captured in order to lead the remaining free Z-Fighters into increasing acts of desperation in the hope they would cause an incident that would forever prove to the public that Vegeta and his little gang of fighters were a threat to society, not heroes.

The question then became...now what?

"I will allow your Neo Saiyans to have their fun. It will be awhile before I'm accustomed to this body enough to use even a fraction of my power, so continue as you have been. Just make sure the Trunks from the now deceased timeline survives." Krysis said

"I will make sure of it sir." Gen said, bowing one last time before leaving.

"One final thing Gen. We will be transporting my head general, Terra to this time period. Before you release the Neo Saiyans, make certain they know that Terra, not Trunks is their commander." Krysis said with a strong tone to his voice.

"_So he knows that I put Trunks in charge of the Neo Saiyans in order to make sure they obeyed me. When the time comes I will be needing the Neo Saiyans if I am ever going to get out from under Krysis thumb."_ Gen thought.

Meanwhile on the forested slopes of Mount Paozu, Bardock lay with his arms and back against a tree. To the casual observer, the Saiyan looked like he was sleeping. However, Bardock was not sleeping, but rather in deep thought.

Long ago Bardock, under the orders of Frieza, had attacked a world known as Kanassa. There a Kanassan survivor of he and his platoon's attack gave him the "gift" to see the future. This "gift" rapidly proved to be a curse, as Bardock was forced to watch visions of Frieza destroying his planet and people. Bardock had tried to stop the visions from coming to pass, but no Saiyan on Planet Vegeta had believed him when he warned them of what was coming. He was dismissed as insane, laughed at for his efforts to save them.

Alone then Bardock had challenged the icy tyrant. In the same attack that destroyed his world, Bardock had perished. He had seen visions of his younger son growing to be a hero who would one day avenge his father and race by destroying Frieza. The Kakorot, no Goku in his visions had said something that had made Bardock question everything he had believed in or done. The words "You don't have to be like him(frieza)." Had struck him deeply.

Truthfully he had felt guilty in the dark days leading up to Frieza's attack on Planet Vegeta about committing genocide. Under orders he had eliminated entire worlds full of people. Men, women and children had perished by the millions. He remembered how he had often rationalized it away, on one occasion telling someone on one world that it wasn't anything personal, he just was following orders. Despite the visions, it was only after his death that he truly had repented.

He had been sentenced to Hell by King Yemma following his arrival in Otherworld's check-in station. Bardock had told King Yemma when the giant told him his sentence "Good, I deserve it." Decades past in Hell. Bardock had conversed with the other Saiyans there that he found. Most Saiyans it turned out, had been allowed to keep their bodies in Hell, because of the atrocities they had committed under Frieza.

As such Bardock was reunited with his old friends, Tora, Fasha, Shugesh and Borgos. All of them had listened to what he had to say, and all agreed with him that the path the Saiyans took after meeting the Arcosians had not been the right one.

Originally the Saiyans lived in peace with the Tuffles after settling on Planet Tuffle after years of wandering in space. The Tuffles eventually decided to enslave the Saiyans, who they regarded as primitive savages. Eventually King Vegeta had organized the Saiyans and war broke out on the planet. Bardock had remembered fighting in that war. The cause was clear, either fight and be free, or die a slave. The first questionable act on the Saiyans part occurred when that war had ended. Rather than grant mercy to the Tuffles, King Vegeta had ordered their execution. Some had objected, such as Bardock himself, but they were ignored. After most of the Tuffles were killed, they had left behind their technology, including battle armor and scouters, which the Saiyans adopted for themselves. With the Tuffles defeated, the Saiyans turned towards space.

The first contact with an alien race after the Tuffle War was with a mysterious race known as the Arcosians. The Arcosians had offered technology in return for conquering a planet for them to settle on. That had deepened the Saiyan's taste for conquest and ruthlessness. Frieza though had the dubious honor of giving the Saiyans their final push towards evil. They had become a race of genocidal killers, wiping out planet after planet.

Many days in Hell Bardock had spent with his oldest friends. They had talked about when things had gone wrong for the most part. That was until Tora had suggested that maybe they could atone somehow. Bardock thought it impossible, until one time when he had a very distinct vision.

Bardock had seen himself with glowing golden hair, battling an enemy that was somehow familiar. He had heard the voice of his son say "Now I am the hero, the one who protects the innocent from evil. But someday you father, you will be that person."

He had thought that unlikely. His doubts continued over the years. When his eldest son Raditz arrived in Hell, Bardock had asked him of his younger son. Raditz told him it was because of his brother that he was now dead. Over the following years his younger son continued to amaze him. Many of Frieza's greatest warriors, like the Ginyu Force, had arrived in Hell followed by Frieza and his father, the infamous King Cold. Frieza's brother arrived sometime after that and soon more and more beings who had attacked Earth made their way to Hell. They were all either sent to Hell by Goku himself, or one of his friends or family members.

Bardock eventually met Piccolo shortly after he was sentenced to Hell. To Bardock's surprise Piccolo had told him he had gone to Hell to save the Earth. Piccolo had also told him all he wanted to know of his younger son. Soon afterwards a great emergency caused King Yemma to release Piccolo from Hell. Bardock had asked if he could leave as well. The Saiyan race was naturally somewhat telepathic, but Bardock had found those abilities magnified many times by his Kanassan granted visions.

That was what convinced Yemma to allow he and Piccolo to visit King Kai for special training. King Kai had taught he and Piccolo an ability called Instant Transmission. He and Piccolo had put the power to good use in the final battle against Tlama.

Now he was gifted with life again. His new life proved to be just as exciting as his old with this new enemy that had appeared.

But something was troubling him. The ability to see the future would likewise mean that one's actions were predetermined, and fate could not be changed. That was what fit with what Bardock had been told of time travel. Even if one were to go into the past and change an important event, that would not alter the world the traveler came from. Such an action would only effect the reality the change took place on. Basically that meant events were set in stone, and any deviance from that existed only in alternate timelines, each with their own fates.

As troubling as the idea of an unchangeable fate was to Bardock though, Bardock felt uneasy about something, but he could not place exactly what was bothering him.

Bardock looked at the sky of Earth. It was so very blue and peaceful. In the short time he had lived on Earth, the world already felt like home. There were many stories amongst the Saiyans about a planet which was the most beautiful in the cosmos. Now Bardock was living on that world.

Suddenly and violently images began finding their way into Bardock's mind.

Bardock found himself standing in a field of blue sand, surrounded on all sides by broken clocks. Above the sky was a vortex of a multitude of colors. A swirling rainbow leading to a pit of utter blackness.

The green-armored Saiyan suddenly felt a presence nearby. Looking to a hill a short distance away, Bardock saw a shadowy figure mounted on what appeared to be a horse.

"Who is there?" Bardock yelled, calling out to the shadowy being.

Bardock could feel a gaze settle on him.

"What is this place and who are you?" Bardock yelled, wanting answers.

"You stand at the end of time, the nexus at the end of all things." The shadowy horseman said in a ghostly, echoing voice.

"End of time?" Bardock asked

"Mortals were not satisfied with the fate they were given. In their arrogance mortals attempted to change that which should not be changed. Time has therefore realigned in accordance with the wishes of mortals. They will attempt to shape the future according to their needs and desires, but in the end they will realize that their hopes and dreams are futile for death is the only absolute." The rider said

"I refuse to believe that." Bardock said

"Do you believe the future is yours to determine?" The rider asked.

"I believe it is everyone's to determine." Bardock said with conviction in his voice.

"Mortals can only effect their immediate surroundings. No matter how much power you attain, if you are only mortal some things will never be possible for you." The shadowy rider said.

"So nothing we do really matters? Is that what your saying?" Bardock asked

"Everything you do matters in some small way. But what you desire alone will not save you from what is the fate of all things, including time itself." The rider said ominously.

"How does one save time?" Bardock asked.

Before an answer was given the vision was over.

That vision had to be the most ominous he had ever seen. Important events were occurring on Earth. Something was happening to time itself, the question was why. Was it fate, or was someone doing something that would destroy the entire universe.

Meanwhile on a grassy plain near West City, Future Trunks stood sensing that the battle between that machine and his father had ended. He had brought the children to a nearby town before returning to this spot.

It was here that his counterpart from this world had attacked him. The other Trunks had said he lived his life in his shadow, and wanted to prove that he was the real Trunks.

Future Trunks did not understand his counterpart's feelings. He was he, and the other Trunks was his own person. They might share the same name, the same DNA, but they were not the same person.

Still the other Trunks would not listen to reason, and blinded by his own rage he had caused his supposed best friend to be hurt in the process.

Trunks had left the scene of that battle with a great feeling of disgust at the entire situation, not thinking about what was left behind.

Trunks then saw a glimmer, and when he looked to see what it was, he saw what looked like a sword on the ground.

Reaching down and picking up the sword, Trunks was astounded at the blades resemblance to his own sword. There was something different about this weapon however. While Trunks' sword was an ordinary blade, he could sense something surrounding the sword, a small hint of a greater power.

Before Trunks could inspect the sword further, a blast of energy knocked the sword out of his hands.

Trunks turned quickly to see someone who resembled himself, but had long red hair rather than lavender. The man wore a sleeveless black suit of Saiyan-style armor with one red colored shoulder guard over the left part of the chest armor. The man wore red pants and black boots.

"Hello pretender." The man said

"Trunks?" Future Trunks asked in surprise.

"My name is no longer Trunks. I am now called Toran, and how dare you touch what doesn't belong to you." Toran said with a voice filled with rage.

"What the hell happened to you?" Future Trunks asked.

"I've been set free. I was weak, now I am strong, freed from anything that would prevent me from beating you." Toran said

"Let go of your jealousy for me Trunks. There is no need for it. I'm me and your you, its as simple as that." Future Trunks said with a calm voice.

"Shut up! You understand nothing! Always growing up my life and my achievements were measured up against yours. I was a weakling, and you were a warrior who destroyed Frieza and fought Cell. Do you understand the best I ever did in my father's eyes was when I was just a child? When I wanted to go my own way he never approved! Never." Toran said with rage.

"I understand where your coming from, believe me. In the time spent fighting the androids and Cell I tried my best to gain father's approval. He never appreciated anything I tried to do. It was not until I was dead when he actually showed that he cared." Future Trunks said with passion in his voice.

"And once you gained his approval you were the standard that I was supposed to be measured by. Its time for me to prove that your existence is inferior to mine. Enough talk." Toran said with a voice that dripped with hatred and rage.

Toran got into a fighting stance, Trunks knew he was about to power up. Not wasting any more time attempting to converse with someone who refused to listen to reason, Trunks also prepared to power up.

For miles around twin pillars of yellow light could be seen. Vegeta and Bulma, who had gone out to the balcony behind their home, both gazed at the lights.

"Vegeta what is that over there?" Bulma asked.

"It is our son, both versions of him. They are preparing to fight." Vegeta said with a tone suggesting mixed emotion.

"We have to stop them!" Bulma said suddenly in alarm.

Suddenly Bulla walked onto the balcony.

"Let him fight mom. Trunks has always felt inferior because of all the stories you told him growing up about the Trunks from the Future." Bulla said

Bulla was generally a copy of her mother. Her usually scandalous choices in clothing and long blue hair made that apparent. Sometimes though Vegeta saw a wisdom from her that made her have more in common with her father than one would think.

"Bulla is right. If our son feels he must prove himself, than the best thing we can do for him is allow this battle to occur. Sometimes words alone are not enough." Vegeta said

Back at the battlefield both combatants had finished powering up. Both stood as Super Saiyans, surrounded by a flaming aura of yellow.

"_I won't know how strong the other Trunks has gotten until I fight him. Whatever happened to him has obviously raised his power level, the question is how much?" _Trunksthought.

Toran made the first move, disappearing in a flash as he attempted to land a flying kick to the face of Future Trunks.

Trunks however quickly stepped backwards, then blocked a flurry of punches from his enraged counterpart.

"Your power has definitely increased, but I'm still the more experienced fighter." Trunks said as he continued to block increasingly angry attacks from his red-headed opponent.

Suddenly Toran disappeared. Trunks immediately sensed his opponent high above.

"Say goodbye pretender!" Toran said, forming a ball of red energy in his outstretched right hand.

Trunks flew upwards to intercept his opponent, but before he had gotten far Toran began firing a raid of red energy downwards at Trunks. The attack was not limited to Trunks however, and large explosions could be seen for miles around as Toran fired his chaotic attack, not caring who was hurt as long as Trunks was destroyed.

"_This has gotten out of hand. Up until now I've fought him with the assumption that he is not an enemy. It is time I change that." _Future Trunks thought.

Trunks unsheathed his sword then yelled as he ascended to the second level of Super Saiyan. His power increased, Trunks wasted no time in attacking his formerly red-headed opponent.

However Trunks found his enemy was quite fast, as he managed to dodge each and every slash from his sword.

Toran meanwhile managed one quick punch to Trunk's chest, causing the warrior from another timeline to nearly double over in shock and pain.

"Not quite the easy opponent I was last time am I?" Toran said, taunting Trunks with a tone of arrogance.

Trunks ignored his opponent and fired a yellow energy blast in Toran's direction, an attack which was easily swatted aside. However, Trunks real attack was not the energy blast but a sword slash, which he managed to slice a gash in Toran's stomach area, penetrating his armor and creating a nasty wound.

Toran put his hand where the wound was, and then raised his hand to his face, seeing blood.

With a howl of rage Toran transformed, his already spiky yellow hair becoming even moreso. Toran then fired a strange ring-shaped beam in Trunk's direction. The attack was simply too fast for Trunks to dodge.

Struck by the beam, Trunks found himself bound by three crimson energy rings, unable to move his arms. His sword dropped to the ground below, landing blade-first.

"That attack originally belonged to Gotenks, but I changed it a bit. I call it my Crimson Rings of Binding." Toran said with contempt at Trunks.

Trunks fought the rings, but found them too strong to break free. Instead he did something unexpected and kicked Toran in the face when he got near. Distracted by this maneuver, Toran's technique weakened, and with a loud yell, Trunks broke free, destroying the rings in the process.

Trunks usually preferred to fight with his sword, but he had fought plenty of battles without it. After his original sword had been destroyed, Trunks had been forced to learn a fighting style that did not make use of a weapon. King Cold had once thought Trunk's power came from his weapon, but he had learned the hard way that his power came from him alone.

Firing a large orb of yellow electricity at Toran while he was still stunned from the kick he had made earlier, Trunks began a furious assault on his opponent.

Trunks yelled, bringing his elbows down on Toran's back, an act which sent Toran plummeting into the ground painfully. Trunks then dived downwards and delivered a fierce uppercut to Toran's face, sending his opponent back into the sky.

Trunks then appeared in front of Toran and began slamming his body with hundreds of ultra-fast punches. Toran, reeling from Trunk's furious attacks, clutched his still-bleeding wound as he breathed heavily.

"I was..I was supposed to have gotten stronger. How is it your still more powerful?" Toran said with a tone of frustration as he hovered back down to the ground.

"Your fighting out of vengeance, selfishly not caring who you hurt in the process. I will always be stronger than people like you." Trunks said, quickly retrieving his sword as the two fighters touched the ground.

Toran thought he saw an opening, and with a smile, fired an enormous blast of orange energy in Trunks' direction. Trunks quickly used his sword like a baseball bat and sent the attack right back in Toran's direction.

Toran was sent miles back from the impact of his own attack. Smoke rising from his body, Toran felt his anger rising. He hated his other self. He hated his superior fighting skills. He hated his life as a hero. Most of all, he hated himself.

In his rage Toran decided to use his trump card, a last resort device installed into his armor which produced Blutz Waves on an equal level to that of the moon.

Meanwhile Trunks nearby prepared a killing slash with his sword, feeling like he had no choice but to kill his troubled counterpart.

However Trunks' plan ended as he saw Toran's body begin to glow a white light. Trunks almost immediately could feel his opponent's power rising. As if that were not bad enough, Toran soon began to change, his body growing larger, hairier, and more like that of a monkey or some kind of fearsome ape every second.

Trunks walked backwards in alarm, in sudden fear at his now monstrous opponent's raw power. His fear overwhelmed his warrior instinct, which told him now would be the time to transform and go to his maximum power.

Instead Trunks got a fair distance away, looking at his opponent after the transformation was complete.

Toran was now a massive golden ape taller than a skyscraper. The ape retained the saiyan style black and red armor, now much larger than it was originally.

Like some kind of terrifying creature from the darkest depths of the universe, the giant monster roared, shattering the glass in all the buildings in nearby West City and causing its already frightened residents to flee in all directions.

Vegeta saw the giant creature, and his heart sank. Terrible memories came back to him of his time under the control of the fiendish Baby. Vegeta remembered how much of a hell it was when that monster was inside of him, forcing him to hurt his closest family and friends.

His son had now taken the form of the Oozaru, or Great Ape. While initually Vegeta did not want to interfere in this battle, he realized now there was something going on, a plot behind the scenes. He could not leave this battle in the hands of his other son.

So Vegeta flew away from his home, away from his wife and daughter, towards his son from another time, and towards the monster.

Landing beside his son, Vegeta wasted no time and ascended to a level he knew was able to battle such a foe, Super Saiyan Four. Vegeta's long black hair, red fur and tail startled Trunks, who had never seen this form before, let alone on his father.

"Father?" Trunks asked.

"This opponent is too much for a Super Saiyan Three now Trunks, you would only get yourself killed fighting him now." Vegeta said with a solemn tone.

"He is in pain, so much hate and anger, I had no idea." Trunks said looking down.

"Yes, and it is my fault. As soon as I cut off his tail, this will be over." Vegeta said, looking up at the Great Ape which stared down at him strangely.

Suddenly to Vegeta and Trunk's shock the Ape spoke.

"That is assuming I'll let you. No I think this is the perfect oppertunity to demonstrate to the world why you Z-Fighters are a menace hehehe." A voice that was not Toran's/Trunks' said.

"Who are you and what have you done to my son?" Vegeta demanded, anger rising threw out his entire being.

"My name is Gen Kato, perhaps you have heard of me? Anyway your son came to me asking for the power to destroy your other son. Quite like a Greek or Shakespeare play gone wrong...or was that more like Cain and Able? Oh well enough about talking about tragedies, time to create some real ones!" Gen said from what Vegeta assumed was a microphone somewhere, perhaps even in his son's throat.

"How dare you do this to my son!" Vegeta yelled with anger in his voice

"Your son agreed to it, I didn't do anything against his will." Gen said from the mouth of the ape's body.

"You manipulated him and his emotions for your own agenda and personal gain! I will never forgive you for this!" Vegeta yelled, then head straight for Great Ape Toran.

"Like I need your forgiveness Princy. I have a better idea, time to see what this monkey is made of." Gen said just as the Great Ape opened its mouth, unleashing a torrent of fire.

Vegeta would not be intimidated, and flew threw the flames, swiftly delivering an uppercut to the chin of the Great Ape. The Ape staggered backwards as Vegeta continued his assault, landing punch after punch to the face of the ape.

"Your such a fearsome warrior aren't you Vegeta? Maybe a lession in pain is needed." Gen said, and suddenly Great Ape Toran grabbed Vegeta with both hands and began to squeeze.

Vegeta yelled in pain as Gen attempted to crush him using his own son's body. Some part of Vegeta felt that maybe this was his penitence for the time he was controlled by Baby. But the greater whole of his being desired to fight, if not for his own life than for the life of his son.

Vegeta with an iron resolve pushed back the hands that squeezed him, and renewed his assault. He had a plan for getting to the tale, but it involved distracting Gen long enough for him to pull it off.

Vegeta pelted the Great Ape's body with multiple energy blasts. The Great Ape attempted to swing a punch now and again, or hit Vegeta with more fire, but each clumsy attempt at an attack was easily dodged by the Saiyan Prince.

Vegeta thought he had a solid strategy, at least until he saw his son, now in Super Saiyan Three form, fly up alongside him.

"This is as much my battle as it is yours father, I want to help you." The Trunks of the Future said, sword in hand as his waist long golden hair shined like the sun.

"I said before even in that form you cannot hope to be of assistance, now please Trunks, let me handle this." Vegeta said

Using Vegeta's distraction to his advantage, Gen had the Great Ape grab both Trunks and Vegeta with Toran's left and right hands.

In the dark chamber somewhere in one of Gentech's many headquarters Gen used as a control room, Gen adjusted his white hair out of his eyes and chuckled as his puppet squeezed both Trunks and Vegeta like someone squeezing an orange.

Speaking into his microphone, a device which transmitted his words to another microphone he had surgically implanted in Toran during his transformation in his tank, Gen was able to speak to Vegeta and the other Trunks while they were in agony.

"I'm not supposed to kill Trunks, but I don't think anyone around here will mind if your dead Vegeta." Gen said as he pressed a few buttons, ordering Great Ape Toran to let Trunks go but squeeze Vegeta to death at the same time.

Trunks reverted to his base form as he hit the ground. Super Saiyan Three was incredibly hard for him to maintain. The form caused him to be exhausted within ten minutes of using it. But the sheer pain and effort it took just to not be crushed by the giant ape had exhausted him. He got on his right knee and used his sword to get back onto his feet.

He felt he could probably transform into a Super Saiyan at least and fight, but he would probably only get in Vegeta's way. Then again, he had to help his father otherwise his primate opponent would probably end up killing him.

Vegeta struggled against the sheer strength of the Great Ape as the creature's hands attempted to crush him. He did not want to have to transform to a Super Saiyan Five if he didn't have to. Vegeta had found that each time he assumed Super Saiyan Five, it was harder to revert back to normal. The idea of permanently being in such an advanced state of Super Saiyan would not bother Vegeta if it were any other transformation.

Vegeta always felt he was another person when he ascended to the fifth level. He found he had a perpetually enlightened and calm attitude as a Super Saiyan Five, and sometimes knowledge he knew he did not possess would flow into his mind. It bothered him.

As Vegeta managed to push the Great Ape's yellow furred hands away from him with the sheer force of his strength alone, Trunks snuck up behind the Ape and prepared to take a slash at the creature's giant golden tail.

Back in Gen's control room, he saw Vegeta's face on one of the monitors. Vegeta's face was the face of resolve, of courage. Gen could not help but admire the Saiyan's bravery and desire to protect his loved ones. But at the same time, it was those very traights that he hated. He saw in Vegeta his own father, a man who had favored his brother Bui, dismissing Gen's work as inpractical. When his father had passed away, leaving Bui his successor, nobody suspected that it had been Gen who had murdered him.

Gen smiled at the memory. Gen had asked his father to see something he created. His father was impressed, said he would have his invention made into the company's greatest acceivement yet. After the praise, the man had given his then seventeen-year old son a hug. After that, before his father left the room, Gen shot him with a concealed dart dripping with a vile poison.

The man had not noticed the tiny object that pumped death itself into his skin. Even on his deathbed later that day he never noticed it. It was the perfect kill.

Truthfully Gen had felt remorse for what he did, but he ignored his conscious. So many, so many people over the years he had killed accused him of insanity. But each time anyone examined Gen, he was always found to be a normal, mentally stable human being. Many people in this high-tech world he lived in could not or would not comprehend the horror of what Gen truly was, an existence he had embraced rather than tried to justify away like so many others might.

Gen was evil..and he loved every second of it.

That was why he hated Vegeta. The Saiyan seemed to stand for something now. As Vegeta stared at his puppet Great Ape, the look in his eyes angered Gen greatly.

Gen decided to terminate the worthless Saiyan, and so pressed the buttons controling the Great Ape's nervious system, ordering the creature to stop playing around and immediately kill Vegeta.

However the command did not seem to register.

"Blasted machery, why won't you WORK!" Gen yelled in anger and frustration.

Back at the battlefield, Trunks had successfully cut off the Great Ape's tail. The beast immediately afterwords seemed to be in some sort of trance.

Vegeta flew up to the face of Great Ape Toran and spoke.

"Trunks it is me, your father, are you in there my son?" Vegeta asked, hoping with every fiber in his being that a trace of his son remained in the hairy beast he had become.

"FFA..FATHER?" The Yellow Beast asked.

"Yes it is me, your father Vegeta." Vegeta said with a smile, glad his son recognized him.

He had noticed the other Trunks sneak behind the creature. Truthfully part of Vegeta knew his other son would not sit by while his father struggled. In distracting Gen, Vegeta had allowed Trunks to cut off the beast's tail, which should restore his son to normal.

However something was wrong.

"YOUR THE CAUSE OF MY PAIN! YOUR JUST AS GUILTY AS THE PRETENDER!" Great Ape Toran yelled in a booming voice.

Before Vegeta could reason with his son the creature began to change. The beast's form shrunk down into the size of an average human. The creature's shape also became human. The yellow fur had changed to a shade of crimson. His son had violet spikey head hair as well as icy blue skin and dark, pupil-less black eyes. The form had no tail, yet it was undoubtably a Super Saiyan Four. Or was it?

There was something very wrong, something horribly dark about this transformation.

As both Trunks and Vegeta gazed at Toran's new form, Vegeta had a feeling he knew what had happened. A Saiyan's feelings greatly affects his form and power. But while Trunks had remembered his identity, a requirement for attaining Super Saiyan Four normally, his feelings were munipulated. Moreover, his genetics had appeared to have been tampered with.

He wasn't a true Super Saiyan Four, rather what stood in front of Future Trunks and Vegeta was some sort of Corrupted Super Saiyan. Whatever it was, this was bad, very bad.

In a flash Toran teleported in front of Future Trunks and grabbed the younger incarnation of himself by the throat.

"You feeling weak now? Is desparation clawing it's way into your mind Trunks?" Toran said with a sinister grin.

"You don't know what your doing, let me go and we can talk about this Trunks." Future Trunks said as he struggled to break free from Toran's grip.

"Trunks, let your brother go. It is my fault your like this, so the fight is between the two of us." Vegeta said with a voice filled with both compassion and authority.

"So he is my brother now is it? Is that a joke or something? Because I'm not laughing." Toran said, tightening his grip on Trunks' throat.

"You are basicly twins, separated by time. No I won't say it again. Let..him..go." Vegeta said with a warning tone.

Surprisingly, Toran let Future Trunks go, the later man fell to the ground and breathed heavily.

Trunks felt so weak, helpless even. Was this what his counterpart felt? He could understand the frustration maybe, but hurting others for the sake of a vendetta was wrong and could not be condoned.

Toran walked over to Vegeta, and the two stared at each other, as though some unseen communication was going on between them.

Suddenly and surprisingly, Toran blasted Vegeta in the chest with a blast so powerful that it took out the entire middle of West City and much of the countryside behind it.

Toran turned towards a shocked Trunks and smiled.

"Now that the old man is out of the way, how about I finish with you?" Toran said as he stared at Trunks with souless, black eyes.


	7. Light and Shadow

Trunks stared into the black eyes of his opponent. He saw only blackness in those eyes, no trace of the person this creature had once been.

He had been in situations like this before. On his own world, the loss of Gohan stood out as one of the times he had felt the most helpless. Every failed battle with the androids reminded him of his own powerlessness.

Now his opponent was himself. It was ironic really. He now faced a version of himself that might have existed had events on his own Earth occurred differently. His opponent was another Trunks who had grown up hearing tales of himself.

Toran grabbed Trunks by the throat. Trunks could feel his opponent's breathe on him.

"How does it feel Trunks? How does it feel to be utterly useless?" Toran said, his soulless black eyes gazing at Trunks with contempt.

Trunks struggled to speak. If he had to struggle to even talk than transforming was out of the question. This was not a battle he could win. Yet if he lost he would lose his life. That was something he could not let happen.

Trunks coughed, spitting up blood in Toran's face. The Corrupted Super Saiyan had a blank expression in response.

"I really thought you were strong, but now I know what true power is. I would kill you Trunks, but I think you need a demonstration of what I am capable of now. Only after you know the darkest depths of despair will I set you free and terminate your life. Now watch." Toran said as he dropped Trunks roughly onto the ground.

Trunks could literally do nothing. Breathing was difficult, his eyes struggled to stay open. It seemed he had seen his last battle. Accepting his fate, Trunks gazed as Toran rose into the sky, a dark blue aura of malevolence around the Corrupted Super Saiyan.

Toran yelled as his aura grew, casting everything as far as the eye could see in a dark light. Trunks was reminded of an image in negative, as he saw dark objects made light, and vice-versa.

In truth this was not the first time he had felt this sort of power. A few days before the fateful event known as the Cell Games, during the ten days Cell had giving his adversaries to train and prepare themselves, he had, alongside his friends fought a terrible being. The being's name was Broly. When the formerly mind-controlled Broly assumed his bulky, "Legendary" form, Trunks had felt a dark pit of foul energy behind him. During that battle, occasionally Broly would increase in power without a logical explanation.

Whatever power gave Broly it's strength, felt like a combination of power itself and pure unadulterated evil. There was another feeling present however. It was a feeling of emptiness. Trunks had never felt something so evil.

And now he felt that same power.

Toran flew in front of the sun. The Corrupted Super Saiyan's power caused an artificial eclipse, and darkness descended on the world.

Looking down on the world he once fought to defend, Toran clutched an orb of black energy he had created in his right hand.

Momentarily, Toran felt regret for what he was about to do. He even briefly thought maybe he was wrong. But then a voice spoke to him.

"_You owe nothing to the living on this world. They have given you only disappointment and pain. Whatever desires you had before are immaterial. This world cannot be defended forever. Death is the only absolute." _The voice said

Smiling as joy filled him, Toran tossed the small black orb of electrical-like energy towards the Earth.

Back in his laboratory, Gen stared with disbelief as Toran, who was supposed to be HIS puppet, tossed an energy attack capable of destroying the Earth towards the Earth. He tried to reboot the system, anything to reestablish control, but nothing worked.

He then heard footsteps coming towards him.

At this point, he did not care if Krysis found out about what was going on. In seconds they would all be dead.

"I see your little experiment with Trunks backfired, just as I predicted it would." A familiar voice said.

Gen turned his head to see Krysis, his dark eyes staring at him with annoyance.

"I told you I wanted the other Trunks alive didn't I?" Krysis said, his face an intimidating visage from behind his red mask.

"Yes sir, but I did not plan on Toran breaking free from my control. He suddenly transformed into a Super Saiyan Four, or something like it, and then all my controls stopped working!" Gen said, in a panic.

"Calm down you fool. I already have Giga heading to that location. He will end your pet's little rampage. Make sure you use this to our advantage. One of the Z-Fighters losing it and going berserk will go a very long way for our cause." Krysis said calmly as he spoke to Gen.

"Yes, of coarse sir." Gen said

Toran looked at his right hand. Satisfied with the amount of power his attack now possessed, he tossed it like a grenade towards the Earth.

Trunks gazed upwards as the object approached him in slow motion. If this was that moment where one's life passed before one's eyes, that was that time. The object grew as it approached, becoming a pitch black meteor capable of ending everything on Earth. Trunks truly felt this was the end, however when he had lost all hope, something unexpected happened.

A sword flew into Trunk's hands. Images and a voice immediately entered his mind.

"Hello Trunks. You do not know me, but I know of you. My name is Tapion. Years ago I met your counterpart from this reality. You may wonder how I am speaking to you now. The answer is within the sword now in your hands. Your sword and this one are part of a greater whole, as are you and the Trunks I call friend. I am not sure how I came to this knowledge, but if you are to free my friend, you must reunite your sword and mine. By the time you get this message, it will have been years since he had last seen me. The sword recorded my thoughts, so that I could pass them down to you if the need ever arose." Tapion's voice echoed in Trunk's mind.

It seemed impossible. Somehow the sword he now clutched in his hands had sent into his mind the thoughts of someone from years past. Trunks had wondered where the other Trunks sword had come from, now he knew the answer.

Strength flowed into Trunks, and with one swift motion the young warrior got to his feet. The horrid black object still bore down on him, now looking like a drop of living black liquid slowly oozing its way to the ground below, hungry to consume all in its path.

Using the enchanted sword, Trunks swatted the dark meteor past a surprised Toran and back into the void of space.

"So you have learned to use my old sword. I think you will find that toy useless against my powers." Toran said, then pointed his left hand towards Trunks.

"I call this attack Eclipse Barrage!" Toran said as he released several hundred tiny orbs of black flame, each no larger than a marble, at Trunks and the Earth below.

As the black rain approached the earth, Trunks spotted his sword. Keeping Tapion's words in mind, he quickly grabbed the weapon with his left hand.

"_I have both swords, now what?" _Trunks thought.

Unable to think of what to do next, Trunks flew into the air as the deadly black rain fell upon the Earth, causing enormous city-sized explosions and causing the entire planet to shake in a world-wide Earthquake.

Bardock was flying above the earth a great distance away from the battle. He was near where he last sensed his grandsons power signature when he felt the horrible energy source that preceded the earthquake.

"Seems like the battle has been taken up a notch. I better use this chaos to my advantage and get Goten and Gohan out of here while I still can." Bardock said, adjusting his red bandanna before diving straight into the ground.

Bulma and Bulla had taken one of the new Proto-type craft she had designed for the Royal Military. If the years hanging around Goku or her husband had taught her anything, it was that she should get as far away from the action as possible.

Her assumptions were proven right as they got out of visual range of West City, as the entire area went up in a large fiery orange explosion.

"I'm getting to old for this." Bulma said quietly to herself.

Somewhere on an Island Vegeta awoke. He was still in his Super Saiyan Four state. A burning wound lay on his chest.

Vegeta was greatly saddened about what had happened to his son, but another feeling grew within him..a feeling of rage. Whoever would be sadistic enough to turn someone he loved and cared about, his own son, into a weapon was someone who deserved no mercy. There was a long list of people on Vegeta's list of losers, this Gen Kato had earned himself a spot as number one.

Overcoming his reluctance to transform into his most powerful state, Vegeta gathered his strength and began to power up. His body glowed brighter than the sun as blue lightning struck Vegeta's general area.

Even Gogeta at Super Saiyan Four during the battle with Omega Shenron paled in comparison to the power levels Vegeta now possessed. As the light dimmed, Vegeta, now in the white and silver fur of a Super Saiyan Five, stood proudly.

Eyes that showed a vast wisdom became engulfed in blue fire as Vegeta completed his transformation, just in time to see a vast explosion consume West City. Vegeta knew his wife and daughter were safe, though he still felt bad for all the innocents his own son had just killed. He hurried with urgency towards the battlefield.

Trunks flew over what was West City with both swords in hand. He still did not know how he was supposed to make the two weapons become one.

That was when Toran appeared in front of him.

"Where do you think your going?" Toran said with a sinister smile.

Trunks in desperation rushed towards Toran with both swords.

Toran easily dodged Trunks attack.

"Your not even a Super Saiyan and your attacking me? The arrogance." Toran said before attempting to slam Trunks with a punch.

To Trunks' surprise he had the speed to dodge Toran's attack. He knew that if he had been hit with even one of Toran's punches, it would be all over.

Suddenly having an idea, Trunks attempted to slash Toran with both swords at once. Trunks was met only by an afterimage. Tapping on Trunks' shoulder, Trunks turned his head to see his opponent behind him laughing smugly at his expense.

"It is really fun watching you try to hurt me, it really is. But I think I'll do both of us a favor and put you out of your misery." Toran said, forming a ball of dark black energy in his right hand.

"If you destroy the planet you will die along with everyone else!" Trunks said with a desperate tone.

"Actually no I will not. I will not die as easily as this pathetic planet." Toran said with a smirk.

Suddenly both swords in Trunks' hands glowed white.

"Neat trick, it still won't save you though." Toran said, sending a hard right punch towards Trunks' stomach.

Instead of hurting Trunks, Toran's punch only hit some kind of invisible forcefield.

"What the heck?" Toran said, repeatedly punching the forcefield in frustration.

Both fighters suddenly heard a roaring sound, typical of someone who had just slowed down from ultra-fast flight.

"I have seen enough of this circus. Time to terminate the failed experiment." A robotic-sounding voice with an English accent said, causing both Toran and Trunks to turn their heads to see who spoke.

It was a golden robot, resembling a medieval Knight. It flew seemingly of its own power.

"Brave talk for a tin can!" Toran said, then attempted to punch the robot.

As Toran's right arm headed towards the robot, the machine soldier grabbed Toran's arm and sent a series of increasingly powerful electric shocks into the Corrupted Super Saiyan's body.

Trunks watched as the robot's left hand detached from its left arm and sent Toran soaring downwards into the ground. The robot then fired a series of missiles at Toran.

The area was engulfed in yet another large explosion.

The robot scanned the area, once he was satisfied that Toran was dead, he looked at Trunks.

"My master desires I bring you to him. Do not attempt to resist." The robot said

"You shouldn't assume your opponent is dead until you know it for a fact." Trunks said, pointing towards a very angry looking Toran flying towards the golden machine.

"I don't like people who try to take away my chance at vengeance!" Toran yelled, putting both hands together as dark energy gathered in his palms.

"Your power is inferior to mine. Allow me to demonstrate." The golden robot said, hovering backwards some distance from Toran as he pointed his right hand at his opponent.

Trunks got some distance away as Toran fired a pitch-black beam at the gold robot, who fired a green laser in response. The two attacks slammed into each other, causing a mid-air explosion and a huge shock wave that nearly caused Trunks to fall from the sky.

Whatever Tapion wanted him to do, he had to figure it out quick before whatever that machine was killed the other Trunks.

Toran charged the golden machine, rage evident on his face. The robot dodged each of Toran's punches with ease as his opponent tried in vain to hit him.

The robot then pointed his right hand at Toran, and blasted the Corrupted Saiyan a great distance away with a blast of green energy.

After that Toran and the machine exchanged fire as the two attempted to hit the other with an energy attack.

Trunks knew that although the robot had the upper hand now, Toran would eventually grow stronger if he tapped once again into whatever that foul well of emptiness was that he drew his power from.

Trunks did not know if he could do as Tapion asked. Nothing he did worked, he could not combine the two swords. As he was about to give up, suddenly an idea hit him. It was very risky, and probably insane, but if the sword was indeed enchanted, then perhaps it was the only thing capable of freeing his counterpart from whatever darkness now held sway over him.

"Toran..catch!" Future Trunks said, tossing both swords at the Corrupted Super Saiyan.

Toran on instinct caught both weapons. Suddenly his mind was filled with images.

"Trunks...my friend. You have been manipulated into working with the forces of evil. These swords can set you free, if you will them. You and the other Trunks are halves of the same whole." Tapion's voice spoke

"There is so much..darkness. Tapion I don't know if I can overcome it." Trunks said. He felt surrounded by a sea of infinite darkness, his head above the dark waters, but only barely.

"The friend I know would never give up. I believe in you Trunks, I believe that in the end, you will do the right thing. I know you will fight for justice, not revenge." Tapion's voice said

Trunks felt his body rise a bit. The darkness seemed to be slowly losing its hold on him. He was nearly free from the ocean of darkness, when he felt a powerful, and very evil, presence nearby.

"_Why do you cling to that which is meaningless?" _The voice said.

"My love of family and friends is not meaningless" Trunks said in response.

"_Everything is meaningless except for that which is the only absolute. Only death is meaningful. Why not end the futility that is mortality?" _The voice answered.

Trunks ignored the dark presence and accepted the swords conditions. In his mind the sea of darkness seemed to retreat as a pillar of light engulfed Trunks.

Suddenly the other Trunks appeared. Future Trunks stared at his counterpart. His scarf and outfit vaguely reminded him of Android 17.

"I really screwed up didn't I?" Trunks said

"Yes you did." Future Trunks said

Trunks looked ashamed.

"I hurt you for selfish and stupid reasons. I hurt Goten, and father. How can anything ever be ok again?" Trunks said with sorrow in his voice.

"It is not too late, we can still save our family and friends." Future Trunks said

"_No matter if you save them or not, they will die eventually, as all mortals do. Why prolong the inevitable? Is your futile existence worth so much to you?" _The voice said.

Future Trunks looked around, sensing the same feeling of emptiness he had felt earlier. Above them was a dark figure in a black robe. A dark red aura surrounded the figure.

"Who are you and what are you trying to do here?" Future Trunks asked.

The figure was silent. After a few moments it faded away.

"That was disturbing. Anyway, are you ready Trunks?" Future Trunks asked his counterpart.

"Whatever I have to do, I am willing." Trunks said

"As am I." Future Trunks said.

Back on Earth, it appeared to both the approaching Vegeta and to the golden robot known as Giga-001 that Future Trunks flew towards Toran, who in a flash had reverted back to Trunks. The two Trunks then were engulfed in a sphere of white light.

"What is going on?" Vegeta asked, sensing both his son's energy disappear.

The sphere disappeared seconds after its formation, revealing a figure in golden armor with long shoulder length lavender hair, wielding a silver broadsword. The sword's cross-guard was seemingly made of gold, and had the image of a lion engraved on its surface.

"Who are you and where is the failed experiment?" The golden robot said to the newcomer.

"I am Trunks, your experiment as you called it, is me. Where there was once two, is now one. I am complete." Trunks said, pointing his sword in the robot's direction.

"I do not understand." Giga said.

Suddenly Trunks disappeared in a flash and reappeared behind the robot with his sword in a position suggesting he just used it offensively. Giga promptly exploded seconds after Trunks reappeared.

"Your armor is no match for the power of Excalibur." Trunks said, placing his sword in a golden scabbard on his back.

Back at his secret company headquarters, the last image seen on Gen's monitor was that of the golden armored Trunks moments before he completely destroyed Giga, the most powerful robotic soldier in their arsenal.

As angry and confused as Gen was, Krysis seemed livid with rage.

"Again, every time he comes to stop my plans. This is not going to go his way this time. Gen, launch the Neo-Saiyans into combat immediately, and prepare the time gate to transport my entire army to this time period after your done with that." Krysis said, his body now giving off noticeable red bio-electricity.

"Activating the entire Time Gate network will take time. We need to use our footage of Toran's rampage to convince the public that the Royal Military is in league with the Z-Fighters, and that our forces are the only means of stopping them." Gen said, once again going over the plan the two of them had thought up months ago.

"What are you waiting for then Gen, go and get your company's propaganda machine running." Krysis said with a tone suggesting impatience.

Gen winced at the word "Propaganda", even though he knew it was the truth.

As Gen was about to leave the room Krysis said one last thing to him.

"Gen, make sure the first person to be transported to this time period is General Terra." Krysis said

"Of coarse sir." Gen said.

Time was growing short. Not only that, but Gen's plan to use Toran against Krysis had failed miserably. The Neo Saiyans were completely loyal to Krysis and his army after Gen had been forced to reprogram them. Once Krysis forces arrived Gen knew he would have outlived his usefulness.

Gen knew by transporting Krysis' army here, he was likely carving his own tombstone. Still he had a backup plan. When he had carried out his orders, Gen intended on unleashing his greatest creation on his supposed master. They would never see it coming.

However in another section of Gentech's hidden base, Bardock had landed after tunneling threw solid rock. The Green-armored saiyan looked around at his surroundings, seeing only a simple tunnel of concrete in both directions.

Sensing his grandsons nearby, Bardock quickened his pace as he ran threw the tunnel. Strangely there were no guards, nothing preventing him from going where he wanted threw the tunnel.

Bardock arrived at a series of holding cells. In one cell he saw the unconscious form of a bald old man wearing a hawaiian style T-shirt and shorts chained to the far wall. Bardock recognized the man as Mr. Roshi. He had met the mentor of his son a few days after arriving on Earth. The old man loved the ladies, that much was certain, however he also was very helpful in answering any questions Bardock had of the Earth or its people.

The prison cell also held another older man wearing a very old orange outfit, perhaps for martial arts. Bardock recognized this man as well, he was Krillin, one of his son's oldest friends. Krillin also had been very kind to him, perhaps because he resembled his son so much. Krillin had told Bardock of all his adventures with his son.

Bardock could not help but feel slightly angry. These two had been kind to him. They had both helped save the Earth numerous times, especially Krillin. They had been rewarded with their efforts with lies and imprisonment.

Bardock walked over and looked into the next prison cell. This one contained another older man, this one had a brown outfit, a large mustache, and a balding head framed with the remains of an afro.

Hercule Satan, the former world martial arts champion, and the Grandfather to Pan. Pan was Bardock's Great-Granddaughter, and his grandson's father-in-law. He was not the most perfect person, but he had helped to save the world once, and was generally a good guy deep down, or so Bardock was told.

Also in the cell was a woman who looked no older than twenty. She had blond hair, a black shirt, and a pair of blue jeans. Bardock had met the woman once, she was Krillin's wife. Her name strangely enough was a number. Apparently she was actually a cyborg-type android created by some insane scientist that wanted his son dead for whatever reason. Her name was Eighteen. She was a cold, but kind person, that much Bardock could tell. She reminded him somehow of his own wife.

Bardock looked to the third cell. This one contained the people he was looking for. In addition to Gohan and Goten, who both were still wearing the clothing they had been abducted in, the room contained a blonde-haired girl. The girl was Marron, Krillin's daughter. From the looks of things in the room, Bardock surmised that Marron was the latest to be captured.

Not wanting to waste any time looking for whatever device would unshackle the prisoners, Bardock decided to do things his way, the saiyan way.

Using as little energy as he could while still forming enough to destroy the shackles, Bardock freed each and everyone trapped in the hellish dark prison.

Each of the people slowly regained consciousness, starting with Gohan.

"Easy Gohan, I don't know what those guys blasted you with, but I think it would be wise if you took it easy." Bardock said

Soon Goten awakened, followed by Eighteen. After that Master Roshi, Krillin, and finally Marron and Mr. Satan awoke. Everyone seemed confused as to their surroundings.

"Now that everyone is awake, can I have everyone's attention please?" Bardock asked.

"Sure go right ahead tough guy, I won't stop ya." Master Roshi said as he spotted Eighteen and immediately began to drool.

"Where the heck are we? Looks like some kind of dungeon." Hercule said, looking around.

"That's because it is a dungeon." Bardock said

"Why would anyone want to imprison the champion of the world?" Mr. Satan asked, anger and confusion in his voice.

"People who want us out of the way so they can take over most likely." Krillin said, rubbing a sore spot on his head.

"Reminds me of my dad." Eighteen said with disgust.

"Well with that statement I don't know about you guys, but I'd like to get out of here. Valese is probably worried about me." Goten said, adjusting his shirt.

"Worrying about your girlfriend is the last thing we should be doing. Bar, I mean, Grandfather, what has been going on since we have been down here?" Gohan asked.

"Well Gohan I can answer part of that." Goten said with anger in his voice as the recent memories came back to him.

"What do you mean Goten?" Gohan asked.

"Trunks had me use fusion in order to fight the other Trunks, you know, the one who helped you guys fight Cell?" Goten said, disgust in his voice.

"He had you do what?" Gohan said with surprise.

"Yeah, he was obsessed with it. I guess he left me out cold after the fusion ended because after that other Trunks used some kind of weird sword technique on Gotenks I don't remember a thing until a few minutes ago." Goten said

"We can think about how we got down here, or we can escape. I think the second option sounds better, but thats me." Bardock said with a smirk.

Somewhere in a vast desert, General Yumimoto watched a television report originally aired by GenTV that showed ghastly images of someone completely destroying West City. The report by GenTV's completely un bias reporters claimed the attack was another example of Z-Fighter aggression.

The news reports would always claim the Royal Government and its military were behind the Z-Fighters. The general had not in his long career ever heard such despicable lies.

The Vanguard of Independent Nations was soaking up the false information from GenTech and eagerly using it as more justification for their war effort. It was once said that information was one of the battlefields in war, with Truth the first casualty. General Dwight Yumimoto had little reason not to be believe that claim.

As the General continued to command his forces from his recently acquired desert base in what was proving to be a successful campaign, he could only hope that in other fields of battle in this war, his peers enjoyed likewise success.

As the sun set on the sand dunes and on the military base, Yumimoto removed his hat and said a quiet prayer for the Z-Fighters who had risked their lives so many times to save his life and the lives of everyone he cared about.


	8. Enter the Neoforce

_Hello everyone, Sword of Geddon here. I have here another installment of Transcendsion: Krysis Saga here. I just wanted to thank my readers, whom I hope are enjoying my story. Don't forget to review. Reviews tell the author the thoughts of his readers. I appreciate any thoughts you guys have, or constructive critism. _

Trunks flew down and landed on a green grassy hill as his father approached. The lavender-haired youth stared calmly ahead as Vegeta landed alongside him, in his Super Saiyan Five state.

Vegeta could sense Trunks' unusually high power level. He had felt this power appear the exact moment both his versions of his son had disappeared from his senses. Seeing the strange gold armor and fancy scabbard on Trunks' back told Vegeta one thing: The two Trunks had somehow used fusion.

The concept of two versions of the same person fusing was a fascinating one, but Vegeta knew he did not have time for a lot of questions.

"Is the fusion permanent?" Was all Vegeta managed to ask.

"It will last as long as it needs to for me to complete my mission." Trunks said

"Who are you exactly?" Vegeta asked.

"I'm what remains of yet another version of your son. In all the realities I was the most powerful incarnation of Trunks. I was chosen eventually to become a guardian of the space-time continuum. Both the Trunks you knew contained enough of my existence that fusion would recreate my form. I still have a mission to complete, and unless I am successful, all of time and space will cease to exist." Perfect Trunks said, his blue eyes looking into Vegeta's own.

"I get the feeling whatever your mission is has to do with these robot attacks and the realignment of time." Vegeta said, crossing his silver-furred covered arms.

"You are correct. The entire time-space continuum has changed after you defeated Tlama a year ago. However, the time-space continuum is still dangerously unstable. You have the right to know what your up against, so I will tell you, but only after the Namek comes down here." Trunks said, looking upwards towards the gold and red clad Piccolo hovering some distance above them.

Piccolo flew down and landed next to Vegeta.

"Piccolo, I see you finally decided on a wardrobe change." Vegeta said, smiling at his friend.

"Yeah, the white and purple was so last year. All jokes aside Vegeta, this outfit was given to me by Niiro Shenron, its more than just a fashion statement." Piccolo said with a smile.

"Niiro Shenron?" Vegeta asked, not recognizing the name.

"Red Shenron, the Eternal Dragon that was linked to the black star Dragonballs." Piccolo said.

"Anyways I'm glad everyone is here. It is time I told both of you everything I know." Trunks said, looking first to Piccolo, then to Vegeta.

"I am what is left of Time Guardian Trunks. For many, many years I protected time from anyone who would try to use time travel or time itself for evil ends. However eventually I lost a battle with a powerful being called Krysis. The only reason I stand before you is because I sent my essence into two swords in two different, but related timelines. If those swords ever became one again, I would be reborn from the users of both swords, who you both know as Trunks." Perfect Trunks said

"Who is this Krysis?" Vegeta asked

"He is an outcast among his own people, a race known as the Pariahans. He came to Earth in one reality in what would be seven hundred years in your future. He used his vast power to force the world to accept him as ruler. He then turned the entire planet into a giant factory, creating legions of his robotic foot soldiers." Perfect Trunks said

"How did you stop him?" Piccolo asked.

"The truth Piccolo, is that I failed to stop him. When I fought Krysis centuries after he had established his empire, I managed to cut off one of his arms before he escaped into the timestream. The way he traveled in time caused Earth's sun of that reality to age into a red giant. I knew I had to follow him before he did more damage to the space-time continuum. However attempting to fight him in the time-stream itself was a mistake, and I was gravely injured in the process. I believe I already told you how I saved my own life." Perfect Trunks said sadly.

"So I imagine this Krysis is trying to bring his empire to this time period, and start over. That would explain the advanced robots I've been fighting." Piccolo said

"I fought a silver robot. Both whatever Piccolo has fought and what I encountered must be parts of Krysis' army." Vegeta said.

"Your both right. If my calculations are accurate, Krysis next move will be to gate his army here. If that happens the fight will be over and we will have lost." Trunks said

"Is this army of his that powerful?" Vegeta asked with a sceptical tone.

"Although we probably could defeat each of the higher ranked soldiers in a one-on-one battle, Krysis has millions of such soldiers. Defeating them all at once would be impossible. That is why we must defeat Krysis before he has a chance to transport the bulk of his armies here." Trunks said with urgency in his voice.

Piccolo looked at the azure, cloudless blue sky of Earth. He loved this world. It had been destroyed twice now. The truth was they could not rely on the Dragonballs to always fix everything that happened. The grim reminder of the Shadow Dragons was a warning that they had been relying on them too much already. If Earth's dragonballs could overload with negative energy, than Piccolo shuddered to think what would happen if Namek's Dragonballs, which were far larger and far older, happened to overload in a similar manner.

The power Niiro Shenron granted also gave him wisdom. He knew that they had to fight harder and better to protect things like the Earth, so that they did not have to rely on wishes to fix things.

"We just need to find Krysis now, and together we should be able to end this threat before it even gets started." Piccolo said

"It will take me awile to pinpoint his location. But your right Piccolo. The sooner we end this, the better for everyone." Trunks said

Meanwhile a green armored Bardock along with an orange gi-wearing Gohan emerged from the underground Gentech base. Goten had volunteered to take the others to the safehouse in the wilderness area of Mount Paozu. The two groups had found separate ways out to improve their chances of escape.

Bardock looked around at the countryside. It was hills of grass as far as the eye could see, with a few mountains in the distance to break up the landscape. The beauty of Earth reminded Bardock of his vision.

"Gohan there is something I need to warn you about." Bardock said with a solemn tone.

"What is it?" Gohan asked

"This entire business with Gentech is part of much larger plot. I think unless we stop whatever is going to happen, time itself will end." Bardock said, remembering his ominous vision clearly.

"You have nothing to worry about. Every threat that has come our way we have beaten. Frieza, Cell, Broly, Buu, the list of defeated enemies goes on and on." Gohan said with a confident tone.

"Everyone has to lose eventually Gohan." Bardock said sadly.

"What a horrible attitude. I don't see why this threat won't be dealt with like everything we have faced before." Gohan said with determination in his voice.

Bardock turned towards his grandson and looked him right in the eye.

"From what I've been told, while you have defeated every enemy up until now, you did so just barely. Frieza was defeated because a time traveler just happened to show up and beat him. Cell nearly destroyed the Earth and everyone on it. If it weren't for your father, my son, using telepathy to speak to you, well I don't have to say what would have happened." Bardock said with a serious tone.

"I understand what your saying. We cannot underestimate our opponents or get overconfident. But don't you think your being a bit, defeatist? Remember that my father would have appeared if Trunks did not and easily beaten Frieza." Gohan said, returning his grandfather's gaze.

"No I don't Gohan. There is something coming that we may not be able to stop. Anyway, lets get back to Vegeta." Bardock said, then took off into the air at high speed.

"If you say so." Gohan said, taking off into the air after his grandfather.

Unknown to either Bardock or Gohan, Goten headed towards Trunks.

Trunks had been his greatest and closest friend. He had been like a brother to him. The way Trunks had used him just to get revenge on the other Trunks, and leaving him to die like a discarded piece of trash afterwards hurt Goten deeply. He felt like punching Trunks in the face, but he did not want to lower himself to his level.

Instead, Goten flew down behind Trunks, who was now strangely wearing gold chest armor, and spoke.

"Hey Trunks. I managed to escape from GenTech's prison. It was a really fun time almost dying and being used for your own childish plan for revenge." Goten said, anger evident in the violet jeans wearing half-saiyan.

"Goten, I am sorry for what happened, I really am, and I don't expect you to forgive me right away, but we have more important things to worry about than that now." Perfect Trunks said, turning to face Goten.

"Of coarse." Goten said, shrugging.

Suddenly a sudden earthquake caused Piccolo, Vegeta, Trunks and Goten to fall over and onto the ground. A huge power suddenly appeared nearby and it was getting closer by the second.

"Is this power we are feeling Krysis?" Vegeta asked, surprise evident in the silver-furred Super Saiyan.

"Whatever it is its huge!" Piccolo said in shock.

The group could see what looked like five blue comets heading towards them. Before anyone could react the objects slammed into the ground near the group.

The steaming objects were capsules, Vegeta realized.

"That is not Krysis, it is someone else entirely." Trunks said as he pushed himself back to his feet.

As one the capsules opened and five figures jumped out.

The five then landed and stood side-by-side, looking over towards Trunks, Piccolo, Goten and Vegeta.

Two of the figures were shorter than the others, perhaps Vegeta's height. They were both male and wore blue-saiyan-style armor. They had youthful features and spiky sapphire colored hair and blue eyes.

As one the twins spoke and said:

"Neo Force One and Neo Force Two Pescar and Pescado!" The pair said, before doing a series of poses and sumersaults that reminded Vegeta of the Ginyu Force.

After the pair was finished a larger man with long waist length red hair and a beard stepped forward. He pounded his right chest with his right hand and spoke.

"Neo Force Three, Leo!" The man said with a deep, masculine voice.

The fourth to step forward was extremely tall and so thin that he nearly resembled someone who was starving to death. This man had shifty features, pale skin, and long waist length green hair and emerald colored eyes.

"Neo Force Four, Hydrus!" The man spoke in a craven voice that reminded Vegeta of either a cowardly minion on some television show or movie, or a snake. Hydrus put both his hands beside his face and mimicked a cobra, his long tongue quickly emerging from his mouth before the man stood normally again.

A thin but well muscled man with short blonde hair and a blonde goatee was the last to step forward. He flapped his arms like a bird, then spoke.

"Neo-Force Five, Aquila!" The man said in a deep charismatic voice.

"Now then, who of you should be the first to die?" Hydrus said, looking over Trunks, Piccolo, Goten and Vegeta.

"And you are?" Vegeta said with his silver arms crossed, not impressed.

"We are the Neo-Force, and we have been sent to send all of you to Hell." Leos said with a predatory smile.

"Enough talk. Lets make this a game. Each Neo Force member has a number, as you are no doubt aware. We will all fight in the order of our numbers. That means Pescar and Pescado will fight first." Aquila said with a not-so friendly smile.

"Wait a sec, you said your team will fight in the order of their numbers, but your having two fight at the same time?" Goten said in annoyance.

"I guess that means you want to go first Goten. A foolish move, considering how weak you are." Pescar said.

"I'll show you who is weak!" Goten said angrily, his hair spiking and turning yellow as he transformed into a Super Saiyan.

"Goten your no match for these guys, what the heck are you doing?" Trunks asked loudly.

"If I can't even win a battle by myself, than how can I protect the people close to me? How can I be a husband or a father if I rely on others to win fights?" Goten asked.

Goten sounded angry, perhaps just as much at himself as with Trunks.

"It is too late Z-Fighters. The match has been decided." Hydrus said with a wicked smile.

Leos, Hydrus and Aquila flew some distance away.

"Alright half-saiyan, time to see what your made of." Pescar said as he and his twin struck combat poses a short distance from Goten, who also took a combat stance.

Piccolo had a bad feeling about this battle. Although Goten had trained nearly every day since Omega Shenron was defeated, he still had not discovered how to transform past the level of Super Saiyan. For most of Goten's life he had not fought or trained. His experience and strength as a fighter were far below everyone else at this point. Piccolo hoped he could at least survive this match.

"Anytime now." Pescado said with a tone suggesting impatience.

A gust of wind blew threw the area, causing the field of grass and trees nearby to sway in the wind. The sky was clear except for the rare white cloud.

After what seemed like an eternity, with a yell Goten rushed forward with a punch aimed at Pescar's face.

Pescar grabbed Goten's hand, stopping his attack. Before Goten could react Pescar slammed his left knee into Goten's stomach.

Goten fell over, gasping in pain.

"One blow and your out for the count? How disappointing." Pescado said.

"I'm..not...done..yet!" Goten said as he gasped painfully.

Goten rose to his feet, and cupped his hands as he began to execute a very familiar attack.

"This should be interesting." Pescar said with an arrogant chuckle.

"Kamehameha!" Goten yelled as he sent a blue energy beam in Pescar's direction.

To Goten's surprise, Pescar took the blast head on, but was completely unaffected.

"Our turn." Pescado said.

Goten backed away in fear.

"_I think I'm in over my head here. What was I thinking trying to take on these two at once?" _Goten thought.

"Energy Bubble!" Pescar and Pescado said together. Together the twins formed a pink bubble which was larger than Goten.

"Here Goten..catch!" Pescar said, tossing the bubble in Goten's direction.

Goten attempted to take to the air to dodge the attack, but the bubble was too quick, and absorbed the half-saiyan before he could escape.

Goten found himself unable to breathe, inside a water-like environment with no means of escape.

The twins then together preceded to kick the bubble like a beach ball into the air. The twins then tossed the ball in a triangle pattern at super-fast speeds.

On the ground, Trunks was noticeably upset.

"They are going to kill him. I have to stop this, it is because of me that he is up there suffering." Trunks said with anger in his voice.

"Then go before he dies Trunks." Piccolo said calmly.

Trunks flew into the air and struck Pescar with a quick whirlwind kick, sending the Neo-Saiyan hurtling downwards to the ground below.

"How touching, he is coming to the rescue of his friend." Hydrus said, laughing cruelly as he and the other two Neo-Force members watched the battle from their spot nearby.

Pescado looked visibly angry as Trunks punched the Energy Bubble out of existence and then retrieved Goten as he fell downwards towards the ground below.

Goten gasped for air as Perfect Trunks placed his friend gently on the ground near Vegeta and Piccolo. Goten reverted to his base form. For him the fight was over.

"I do not appreciate people who don't mind their own business." Pescar said angrily to Trunks.

"And I don't appreciate people who hurt my friends." Trunks retorted.

"So us hurting Goten bothered you did it? Pescado why don't you teach Trunks a lesson." Pescar said.

"Right away brother." Pescado said, teleporting to Goten's location much to Trunks surprise.

Before Trunks or anyone else could stop him, Pescado placed his right hand over Goten's chest, quickly ripping Goten's white shirt off in the process.

Immediately Goten's body changed into a blue liquid which immediately ran up Pescado's arm against the laws of gravity.

To Trunks, Vegeta and Piccolo's horror, Pescado proceded to drink the fluid.

"That tasted great, much better than those health drinks we used to have everyday Pescar." Pescado said as he dried his lips.

"What..have...YOU DONE!" Trunks yelled in surprise and anger.

Trunks had the memories and experiences of both the individuals that allowed him to exist. He remembered all the days spent with Goten. Goten had been the closest thing Trunks had to a brother. The two of them used to be inseparable when they were children. Even as they got older, the two never had any friends that approached the level of friendship Trunks and Goten had shared.

Now Goten was gone, drunk up as if he was some kind of refreshment from a soda machine.

"Oh look, we made Trunks angry brother." Pescado said with a cruel chuckle as he flew back and stood besides his twin.

"What ever will we do?" Pescar said with a sadistic gleam in his eye.

"I am going to make you both pay. You hear me? YOUR BOTH GOING TO PAY!" Trunks yelled as he began to power up.

Vegeta and Piccolo both shielded their eyes as the light Trunks was suddenly giving off was blinding.

Nearby at the hill the other Neo Force members were watching the battle on Hydrus chuckled.

"Trunks is in for a surprise if he thinks he can win as a Super Saiyan Three." Hydrus said.

Trunks' power up caused the earth to shake. As Trunks rose into the air, lightning bolts struck his glowing body.

Trunks eyebrows vanished as his golden hair grew down past his waist, completing the transformation as the glow around Trunks dimmed and eventually seconds later, vanished completely.

"I will teach you both a new definition of pain." Trunks said with a dark tone.

"Your power at that level is impressive, but it is nothing the two of us can't handle." Pescar said with a smirk.

"Oh? And why is that?" Trunks asked

"You got your power threw fusion. You Z-Fighters love to break out the dance moves or magic earrings if a threat becomes to much for a single warrior to overcome." Pescado said.

"Yeah and?" Trunks said as he prepared to unsheathe his sword and unleash hell on his opponents.

"We can do your little fusion trick too. Ready brother?" Pescar asked as he smiled with anticipation.

"As always brother." Pescado said

Suddenly both the twins changed to a semi-liquid state and rushed together. The twin's liquid forms merged and twisted, the two forming a completely new body.

To Trunks horror the twins power level soon matched his. To make things worse, their power soon surpassed his.

Soon the liquid form began to solidify. A taller, older-looking muscular man with the same blue eyes, haircut and hair color and clothing appeared.

The man smiled and did a quick series of practice punches.

"Its been awhile since I've been whole. Alright Trunks, I think it is time I proved why Krysis is wrong to fear you." The man said

"Enough talk!" Trunks yelled as he rushed towards the fused form of the twins with his sword Excalibur in his hands.

The blue haired man dodged each of Trunks three sword slices, then slammed Trunks with a ultra-fast series of punches. Trunks quickly put some distance between himself and his opponent.

"_This guy is only toying with me. Those punches had no power behind them. If the power I am feeling from him is accurate then he is capable of much stronger attacks then that." _Trunks thought to himself.

"I almost forgot." The man said, then waved his arms as if he was swimming.

"My name is Pisces, I'm Neo-Force number six." Pisces said with a cruel smile.

"I don't care who you are or what number you are. I want Goten back." Trunks said with a dark tone.

Trunks flew forward, sending a blast of yellow energy in Pisces' direction. Just as the blast impacted Pisces, Trunks sliced the man three times with his sword, then hit his opponent with an even stronger energy attack.

"Burning Attack!" Trunks yelled

Rather than breaking apart, Pieces form split into three semi-liquid blue spheres, then quickly re-merged into an otherwise unaffected Pisces.

"What the hell?" Trunks said

"Whats wrong? Never fought an opponent who can regenerate before?" Pisces said with a smirk on his tan face.

"_Alright, calm down Trunks. I can't fight him while I'm blinded by rage. I will keep on attacking him. While I do that I will see if I can spot a weakness of some sort." _Trunks thought.

Trunks rushed forward again, aiming a strong punch at Pisces' stomach. The Neo Saiyan managed to dodge his attack, then countered with an attack of his own by slamming his elbows hard into Trunks' back.

Luckily Trunks' armor protected him from the full force of the attack, but still Trunks fell to the ground hard from the sheer force of Pisces' assault.

Trunks quickly got back onto his feet, then threw his sword into the sky. After that Trunks rapidly fired thousands of blasts of energy at Pisces, who walked towards Trunks, seemingly unaffected by his attacks.

Pisces then fired a blue energy blast at Trunks from his chest from point blank range, an act which sent Trunks careening backwards at super-sonic speeds far away. Pisces however flew directly over Trunks as the two passed over the ocean.

"Mega Tsunami!" Pisces yelled, telekinetically pulling an unimaginable amount of water from the ocean and sending it high into the sky. The mass of water soon came back down on top of Trunks.

Trunks felt as though a million fists collided with him at once as the water poured down upon him. He struggled against both the pain and against drowning all at the same time.

The wave was parted from above however, as Excalibur sliced it in half as it approached Trunks, who quickly caught the blade.

Pisces easily dodged Trunks as he spun around and attempted to slash at Pisces. Counter-attacking, Pisces slammed his left knee hard into Trunks' face, then grabbed Trunks as he doubled over in pain by his right hand. Pisces then spun Trunks around over the ocean before letting him go.

Trunks soared towards a small desert island as Pisces held his right hand towards Trunks, firing a blue sphere of energy at the golden armored half saiyan.

Just as Trunks was about to be hit by the sphere, Trunks fired a small blast of golden energy at the incoming attack. Instead of exploding however, the attack split into five smaller spheres, which promptly struck Trunks painfully as five separate but equally powerful attacks.

Trunks slammed painfully into the desert island, which was engulfed by an enormous mushroom-cloud shaped explosion.

Trunks lay floating on the ocean amid the debris from what was once an island. He had scrapes, cuts and bruises on his face. Somehow though, he maintained his Super Saiyan Three form.

Hovering a small distance above Trunks was Pisces, who cupped his hands in a very familiar stance.

"I think I will use the attack I learned from Goten to finish you off. If you survive, maybe I'll absorb you like I did your friend, that way you can both continue your friendship forever as a part of me." Pisces said with a smirk.

"You won't win Pisces, and I will get Goten out of you somehow mark my words." Trunks said

"Maybe this Kamehameha will convince you otherwise." Pisces said as he launched an enormous blue energy blast in Trunks' direction.

Just as the blast was about to strike, all of Trunks' attention was on his sword, which glowed, almost like moon light.

"What is that strange light coming from his weapon?" Pisces asked aloud

Suddenly Trunks rose from the water, his body growing and changing as he did so. Golden fur sprouted from his skin, as did a golden monkey tail. Strangely, Trunks golden chest armor and white pants seemed to meld into the form of the growing Great Ape.

Uttering a roar, the now Great Ape Trunks pounded his chest with primal fury as Excalibur floated by its own accord in front of the beast.

"How did he transform into a Great Ape without a tail?" Pisces asked, then remembered.

"That light did this! Oh no, if he ascends I'll be in big trouble!" Pisces said, rushing quickly towards Trunks with the urgent desire to cut off Great Ape Trunks' newly formed tail.

Before Pisces could even get near Trunks however, he began to transform yet again.

Quickly Trunks shrunk back down into his normal size. His hair was now spiky and black, with a streak of lavender down the middle which gave Trunks a similar look to Gotenks. Perfect Trunks' blue eyes looked almost like a cat's eyes, and were framed by red, much like Vegeta's eyes in his Super Saiyan Four state. Trunks had red fur on his exposed arms as well as a red tail. He still wore his golden armor and white pants, which were seemingly unaffected by the transformation.

Super Saiyan Four Trunks quickly grabbed his sword, which glowed red with power as soon as Trunks made contact with the blade.

"Now then Pisces, are you ready for round two?" Trunks said to a stunned Pisces in a deep voice reminiscent of Batman(from Batman Begins or Dark Knight of coarse).


	9. Strength of Water

The ocean behaved as though it were caught in a hurricane. Enormous blue waves leapt from the sea. Overhead in contrast to the ocean, the sky was clear, an unbroken light blue that stretched out as far as the eye could see in all directions.

Hovering over the wave-filled ocean were two mighty warriors. One looked like a young man, perhaps in his early twenties, with spiky light blue hair and eyes. The blue-haired warrior had tan skin, was tall and muscular as well as thin in his build. Blue Saiyan-style armor guarded the man's chest, while his legs were protected by lightly armored black pants. The warrior's name was Pisces, otherwise known as Neo Force Six. A worried expression could be seen on Pisces' face as he looked at his opponent.

Opposite Pisces was a muscular young man with golden armor on his chest, red fur on his arms and tail, with a spiky black head of hair that had a streak of lavender down the middle. On the warrior's back was a golden scabbard meant to hold a sword. The sword itself was in the warrior's right hand. His name was Trunks, and he stared at his opponent with blue catlike eyes that showed neither pity, nor remorse.

Trunks broke the silence and spoke.

"I will give you one chance. Let my friend go..now." Trunks said in a dark tone.

Pisces look of fear soon was replaced with one of amusement.

"You want me to release Goten is that right?" Pisces said in a young yet arrogant sounding voice.

"That is correct." Super Saiyan Four Perfect Trunks said.

Pisces crossed his arms and began to laugh.

"You really don't have a clue do you?" Pisces said as an enormous blue wave of water emerged in the distance behind him.

"What do you mean?" Trunks said, narrowing his eyes at Pisces as his anger began to build.

Meanwhile on the grassy field near what was left of West City, Piccolo and Vegeta had their eyes closed as both watched the battle between Pisces and Trunks using their spiritual senses.

"Do you think Trunks can defeat Pisces as a Super Saiyan Four?" Piccolo asked in a worried tone.

"Provided he doesn't have any more tricks up his sleave, yes. Don't forget this is my son after all." Vegeta said while smiling to himself.

Back over the ocean Pisces answered Trunks' question with amusement.

"Your friend no longer exists as you knew him." Pisces said after letting out a small chuckle.

"I'm not sure I understand, are you saying he is dead?" Trunks said with barely retrained anger.

"No, he exists now as part of me. As your aware, humans are about seventy percent water. When I absorb someone whom I have converted to liquid form, I don't just take in their material existence, but the person's soul as well. In a sense, I am Goten." Pisces said before breaking into almost insane sounding laughter.

Trunks wasted no more time with talk, and disappeared. When Trunks reappeared he had already in a series of actions too quick for the human eye, sliced Pisces in half.

Just as before however, Pisces quickly reformed.

Trunks turned around and faced his opponent, his anger was now accompanied by growing frustration.

"Is there no way to kill you?" Trunks said

Before Pisces could answer Trunks flew into Pisces and rapidly struck the aquatic fiend with a series of ultra-fast punches.

"Finish Buster!" Trunks yelled, sending a brilliant red beam of energy in Pisces' direction

Pisces' form splattered in all directions, taking the form of multiple droplets of water suspended in midair.

Before Pisces could pull himself back together, Trunks fired a second Finish Buster.

Trunks no longer sensed Pisces.

"Goten I will find a way to bring you back, I promise." Trunks said. No sooner had he said those words did Trunks suddenly feel Goten's energy on a small island a short distance away.

His heart pumping with hope that his best friend was still among the living, Trunks rushed over to where he sensed Goten.

Goten was standing, looking slightly dazed, on a tiny island made up mostly of rock.

"Goten your back!" Trunks said as he approached his friend.

"Trunks..stay away!" Goten screamed

"Why Goten what is wrong?" Trunks said with a growing fear.

Suddenly Goten's face twisted in maniacal laughter.

"You should see the look on your face!" Pisces said with a grin on his face.

Trunks bowed his head, as if in prayer.

"I'm impressed at the mental strength of your friend. If he had not warned you, I probably would have absorbed you. The power I would have gained, oh well." Pisces said while still in Goten's form.

Trunks raised his head, his expression was one of utter and complete rage. Trunks had remembered the power Gohan had gained from his anger. It was a power that spelled the end of Cell. Perhaps what anger had done for Gohan then it could do for Trunks now.

Trunks fired a series of rapid energy blasts at Pisces, who on impact dissolved into a puddle of water. Trunks continued to rapidly fire as many blasts of energy as he could. The island Pisces had been standing on had been destroyed, collapsing into the wave filled sea.

Once again Pisces' energy disappeared. Trunks kept his senses sharp. He knew his enemy could be anywhere. So far neither energy, nor physical attacks had been able to really harm his opponent. The only enemy Trunks remembered that was similar to this had been Maijin Buu, who had met his end due to a Sprit Bomb from Goku.

Goku was not here however, and none of the other fighters of Earth knew how to execute the Sprit Bomb technique. There was one other possibility. The same sacred power that made up the Sprit Bomb existed in other sources, namely his sword. Using the full power of Excalibur was dangerous, but this was a battle he had to win, so there was little choice in the matter.

"_I wonder what Trunks reaction will be when I show him the true nature of my powers. Does he really think anything he can do will be able to kill me? Playing with him has been fun, but I think it is time to stop clowning around." Pisces _thought.

Suddenly an enormous fist made of water emerged from the ocean and slammed into Trunks from behind.

Trunks was completely unprepared for the attack, and slammed down into the ocean.

Struggling to hold his breathe under water, Trunks looked around to see where his attacker was. What happened next Trunks did not expect.

Trunks was carried suddenly high above the ocean by a hand made of water. Nearby a humanoid form of almost unreal size emerged from the ocean itself. The form was so large, that a full sized Great Ape, which towered over city skyscrapers, looked like an insect by comparison.

Inside the giant mass of water Trunks could see fish of all colors, sharks, whales, and even aquatic dinosaurs.

It was little wonder that Trunks could not sense Pisces. Pisces was the ocean itself.

On the humanoid form's head a gigantic mouth opened to speak.

"NOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND TRUNKS? AS LONG AS THERE IS WATER AROUND FOR ME TO USE, I WILL ALWAYS BE ABLE TO REGENERATE MY FORM." Pisces said in a voice so loud Trunks wondered if he would go deaf.

"Then I will just have to disable that ability." Trunks said with a smirk as the blade of his sword began to glow white.

Slicing the watery hand holding him in half, Trunks managed to escape from the grasp of his now giant enemy and fly high into the sky.

"YOU THINK YOUR SAFE FROM MY GRASP UP THERE? NOWHERE ON EARTH IS OUT OF MY GRASP!" Pisces roared.

Suddenly the giant of water dissolved back into the ocean. Seconds later Pisces, back in his original form, flew up from the ocean.

Pisces formed a blue energy bubble in his right hand, and tossed it at Trunks, who was still high above near the clouds.

Trunks recognized the attack immediately. If Trunks shot the bubble, it would only split into smaller, but equally strong attacks. Instead Trunks allowed the bubble to impact him, yelling as it did so.

Instead of harming him, the bubble evaporated into steam on impact. Trunks had created a short-lived barrier to protect himself from the attack. From the looks of things, it had worked.

Pisces approached Trunks at high speed. Right when Trunks thought Pisces had gotten close enough, Trunks sliced the Neo-Saiyan in two with his glowing white bladed sword.

This time Pisces seemed to have trouble reforming, as the two halves of semi-liquid material comprising his body could not seem to unite.

"What have you done to me?" Pisces asked in a double voice, both voices having a panicked tone.

"Excalibur is a sacred sword. Any evil it strikes is smited. For you that means your ability to regenerate is gone." Trunks said with a smile on his face.

"That is a nice theory you got there. I have another ability I haven't had the privilege of sharing with you. Remember how I absorbed Goten? Well why do you think I would absorb someone so weak to begin with?" Pisces asked in his double voice.

Not wasting anytime finding out what his opponent meant, Trunks attempted to slice his opponent, but instead found himself running Goten threw with his blade.

Goten gasped, blood coming out of his mouth. In utter shock and horror Trunks removed his weapon and gently grabbed ahold of his friend's body with his left arm.

"Goten, Goten speak to me." Trunks said as desperation over took him.

"How touching. It is a good thing these kinds of moments don't last long, otherwise I'd puke." Pisces said from nearby with a tone of disgust.

"Trunks. Forget about me, do what you need to do and kill this guy..please." Goten said weakly.

Before Trunks could respond, a giant hand made of water slammed down upon both Trunks and Goten from above. The two were sent crashing into the ocean below, which churned, forming a maelstrom.

Pisces pointed both his hands downward at the Maelstrom.

"Aquatic Annihilation!" yelled Pisces as he fired thousands of glowing droplets of water towards the giant whirlpool.

In the seconds after Pisces' attack struck, a giant explosion of fire emerged from the ocean. A huge cloud of steam obscured the area.

"Thank heavens the boy swordsmen is dead." Pisces said, very pleased with himself.

Someone tapped on Pisces shoulder. When Pisces turned his head a glowing red furred Super Saiyan Four fist slammed into his face.

Trunks knew he couldn't permanently harm his opponent. All he cared about now is making this fiend pay for what he did to his best friend, the closest thing the Trunks of this world had ever had to a brother.

Trunks slammed Pisces over and over in midair with his fists. His opponent began to look like some kind of modern art exhibit, twisted and full of holes.

Pisces only let Trunks hit him for about a minute before he flew a distance away and quickly regenerated.

"Your really beginning to annoy me Trunks." Pisces said before disappearing and reappearing a short distance from Trunks.

Pisces then attempted to strike Trunks with a punch from his right arm, however Trunks caught Pisces' hand with his left hand. Pisces then brought his left arm around, but his left fist was also caught by Trunks using his right hand.

The two fighters soon began a contest of strength, each using both their physical and spiritual energy in an attempt at overcoming the other.

"When I get my hands free Trunks, I will absorb you and add your power to my own. Then I will kill your friends one by one while you watch helplessly from inside my body. Oh the horrors I will visit upon them." Pisces said with a sadistic grin on his tan face.

"You will do no such thing monster." Trunks said, then used his left leg to deliver a strong kick to Pisces' abdomen, an act which sent the watery fiend some distance away.

Pisces immediately rushed forward and attempted to punch Trunks. The two then began exchanging blows, each blocking the other's melee attacks.

After a few minutes of this exchange, the two fighters flew away from each other.

"This should teach you which of us is the superior fighter! Aquatic Annihilation!" Pisces yelled, pointing his right hand at Trunks. Thousands of small white droplets of water emerged from Pisces' outstretched hand and flew rapidly towards Trunks.

Remembering this as the attack that had killed Goten, Trunks used his anger to dodge the deadly attack by flying upwards.

Pisces looked up at Trunks with a frustrated expression on his face.

"You know what they say about a house fly? Best way to kill one is to squish them." Pisces said, then brought his hands together.

Suddenly two massive walls of water lifted from the ocean and surrounded Trunks.

"That trick of yours is getting old." Trunks said, not amused, and flew towards Pisces with his sword in hand, the blade once again glowing white with holy energy.

"Not so fast. Aquatic Annihilation!" Pisces said, pointing his right hand at Trunks.

As the walls of water approached from the distance, Pisces fired once again about one thousand glowing white droplets of water at Trunks.

Trunks seemed to be pinned down from all sides. He thought quickly and decided his best coarse of action would be to try and injure Pisces with his sword. With nobody absorbed, Pisces could not substitute a hostage with himself and avoid death.

Flying forward as fast as his Super Saiyan Four body was capable of, Trunks avoided the incoming droplets of deadly water and then swiftly stabbed Pisces threw the chest with Excalibur.

The waves crashed back down into the surrounding ocean, which swiftly calmed down, seemingly freed of Pisces' influence.

Pisces had a look of shock and pain on his face, something which pleased Trunks. Goten was avenged, and this sick freak was defeated..

Or was he?

Pisces suddenly forced himself away painfully from Trunks' blade. He had a smile on his face.

"You can't regenerate and you have a hole in your chest. It's over Pisces." Trunks said, putting his sword back in its scabbard.

"It is not over Trunks. Of coarse you would like that wouldn't you? Anyways I think it is time I use my trump card." Pisces said

Before Trunks could ask what Pisces meant by his "Trump Card", Pisces formed a circle with both hands and fired a white orb into the sky.

"Oh no..it can't be." Trunks said in horror.

"It is. An artificial moon." Pisces said with a smile as he looked directly at the moon. His form glowed white.

Trunks flew a good distance away, knowing that whatever Pisces was about to turn into, it would be big.

Pisces dived into the water as his body grew longer and more fish-like in appearance.

Trunks attempted to sense his foe's energy. When he did, he could not believe how strong the energy coming from Pisces had become.

Suddenly an eel-like creature flew up out of the ocean. Whatever creature Pisces had become combined fish and reptile characteristics. It was light blue in color, with long wing-like fins of a scarlet red. The scales on the creature's serpentine head gradually became more violet in color the closer one got to the beast's large mouth. The creature's tail resembled that of a fish, like the creature's fins, the tail was also red in coloration. It was some kind of sea dragon, that much Trunks knew.

The beast spoke to Trunks when it was completely out of the water, facing down the Super Saiyan Four with his snake-like head.

"Now you gaze upon my true form. You cannot imagine how annoying it is for someone such as myself to be restricted to a humanoid form and size. This is the true incarnation of Pisces. In this form I have been called Leviathan and many other names." Leviathan Pisces said with a deep booming voice.

"Your power is incredible, but I still can win." Trunks said with courage.

"In my humanoid form, water allowed me to regenerate my form and create a weapon wherever I found it. However, in my true form, the total sum of all water on the planet adds to my power level. I believe if you were to use one of those scouters to see my current strength, it would be about eight billion." Pisces said with pride.

"Eight billion is just a number." Trunks said, not buying Pisces mind game.

"Your power level currently in your Super Saiyan Four state is currently four billion. All us Neo Saiyans are equipped with a more advanced version of the scouter. We know exactly what our enemies are capable of at all times." Pisces said

Trunks had enough. He had lost his friend, and this battle had gone on far too long for his tastes. He ignored the strong power coming from Leviathan Pisces and drew his sword.

"By all means Trunks, just try and attack." Pisces said with a calm tone.

Trunks flew past Leviathan Pisces' enormous snake-like form, slicing at him with his sword while he did so.

Turning around to see what damage if any he had caused, Trunks was shocked to see not even a single scratch on his opponent's body.

Pisces turned his head and body toward Trunks.

"My turn." Leviathan Pisces said with a happy tone.

Suddenly Pisces flew high into the sky and then roared. Massive amounts of water in the ocean suddenly jumped out of the sea, forming a enormous sphere of water around the sea dragon.

"Ultimate Tsunami!" Leviathan Pisces yelled, sending a giant blue beam of shimmering energy mixed with water in Trunks' direction.

Trunks fought against the sheer power of his opponent's attack, but it soon was obvious he could not hope to win a battle of strength. Trunks used nearly all his power to avoid being completely destroyed by Pisces' attack.

Soon Leviathan Pisces appeared from behind Trunks and swatted him with his giant tail, then seemed to absorb his own attack.

Trunks plummeted painfully onto a large island covered in tropical vegetation. The Super Saiyan Four form was resilient, but even it had its limits. It was all Trunks could do from reverting to his base form.

"_My only chance is to somehow separate the Leviathan from its source of power. But with Earth having a surface composed of seventy percent water, that is impossible. Maybe if I knew Instant Transmission, I could use the technique to transport Pisces to a planet with little or no water. That would probably greatly weaken the aquatic fiend just enough for me to defeat him." _Trunks thought to himself.

"_Trunks let me take things from here. Out of all of us, only Bardock and I know the Instant Transmission technique."_ Piccolo said telepathically to Trunks.

"_Piccolo, there might be another way, let me finish this battle." _Trunks thought.

"_We are a team Trunks. Besides, you need your strength for when we fight Krysis. That is still your mission is it not? I feel your pain with regards to Goten, but you dying to that monster will not bring him back." _Piccolo said telepathically with a reassuring tone.

"_Fine. But don't screw up." _Trunks thought before falling over in exhaustion as he reverted to his normal form.

Leviathan Pisces looked around for any sign of Trunks.

"I guess I finally killed him." Pisces said loudly to himself.

"I'm afraid Trunks is still alive. However soon enough I won't be able to say the same for you." Piccolo said, suddenly appearing a short distance from Pisces.

"So Namek, you want to test your luck with me? I will admit your stronger than Trunks was, but that isn't saying much considering my power." Pisces said with an arrogant tone.

Piccolo was an impressive sight. His golden cape fluttered in the ocean air, giving the Super Namek a heroic appearance. A gold turban with a red ruby in the center lay on Piccolo's head. Piccolo wore a crimson colored combat uniform.

"I'm afraid you have the wrong idea monster. I'm not going to fight you." Piccolo said with a grin.

"Then what are you here for?" Pisces asked, somewhat confused.

"I'm here to kill you." Piccolo said, quickly placing his right hand on Pisces.

"What?" Pisces said before he and Piccolo disappeared.

Piccolo could only think of one world that lacked water at the moment, and that was the world he had freed Niiro Shenron one.

It was a lonely desert world. The planet orbited three hot blue suns that constantly bombarded the world with light and heat. There wasn't a single drop of water on the planet, only violet sand.

Leviathan Pisces landed in the desert after their teleportation was complete, and almost immediately Piccolo could tell the watery fiend was afraid.

"What is this place? My power..no what have you done!" Pisces said with a voice filled with both anger and fear.

"It is your tomb." Piccolo said, feeling Pisces vast power decrease until it was lower than his own.

"No water to fuel your power, and no innocent victims for you to absorb. It is over Pisces." Piccolo said

"No! I am the king of the seas! I am the god of all water! You cannot do this to me!" Pisces said as his body began to shrivel up.

Pisces screamed in pain as the hot suns began to cause his body to evaporate.

"Unlike you, I believe in mercy. I will not force you to undergo such agony. Sacred Beam Cannon!" Piccolo yelled, sending a glowing white spiral beam into Pisces.

The entire area was consumed in a fiery explosion. Piccolo did not have to see it, he knew Pisces was dead.

Quickly teleporting back to Trunks' location on Earth with his Instant Transmission, Piccolo lifted Trunks onto his back and flew back towards Vegeta's location.

Gently placing Trunks on the ground behind Vegeta, Piccolo spoke.

"He will be fine, he just needs a bit of rest." Piccolo said

"I know my son will be fine. It is the other three Neo Force members that worry me Piccolo." Vegeta said looking into the distance as the massive red headed muscle-bound man known as Leos flew away from his two companions and landed a short distance away.

"Your a very cunning warrior Namek, to have figured out Pisces weakness like you did." Leos said with a smile on his bearded face that resembled that of some predatory cat.

"The victory goes to Trunks, not me." Piccolo said.

Before Leos could answer, Bardock and Gohan landed next to Piccolo.

"Ah I see your reinforcements are here. I can already tell that none of you have the power to defeat me." Leos said while pounding his chest with his right hand.

"And what makes you think that?" Bardock asked, not really knowing who he was speaking to but deciding to ask anyway.

"Pisces was easily the weakest of the six of us, that was why he went first." Leos said with a toothy grin.

"Six? You, Pisces and the others equals four, unless you mean those two brats that combined to make Pisces." Vegeta said, crossing his arms.

"Neo Force One and Two exist only to trick our enemies, they were Pisces the entire time. When I say six I mean there are two Neo Force members who have not arrived here yet. But that all is besides the point. I Leos am your next opponent, now who has the courage to face me?" Leo yelled, challenging all the Z-Fighters present.

"Since I ended Trunks fight for him, I suppose I'll fight you." Piccolo said with a confident smile.

"I was hoping you would say that Namek." Leos said with a confident smile of his own.

...

_Hello faithful readers! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I did writing it. I hope enough to review._

_Now that Pisces is out of the way, the strong and confident Neo Force member Leos steps forward to challenge the Z-Fighters. His opponent will be Piccolo. Will Piccolo's new powers be a match for Leos, who is bound to be a tough opponent? _

_Find out next time, on Dragonball Transcendsion!_


	10. The Intensity of Fire

A strong wind blew across the grassy plains surrounding the two fighters.

Piccolo stared at his opponent. The man was largely built and quite tall, possessing waist-length red hair and a red beard that gave the man an appropriate leonine appearance that was fitting considering the man's name.

Nearby Vegeta watched over his weakened son. Trunks' battle with Pisces left him both emotionally and physically drained.

"Rest my son. For now leave the fighting to us." Vegeta said with a light smile.

"Goten is dead father. It was an accident, but Pisces somehow replaced himself with Goten to save his own life." Trunks said weakly.

"I know, I saw the entire battle. We will find a way to bring him back Trunks, don't worry. For now though, let us hope the Namek is up to the challenge of fighting another one of these Neo Force members." Vegeta said.

Nearby Piccolo began the battle by firing his new attack in Leos' direction.

"Sacred Beam Cannon!" Piccolo yelled, firing a spiral beam of white energy towards the cat-like Neo Force member.

Leos easily sidestepped the attack, then charged Piccolo.

"A strong attack like that is useless if you can't hit your opponent." Leos said as he brought his right arm down and attempted to slam Piccolo with it. Piccolo leapt backwards onto the top of a large grassy hill, dodging the attack.

"I'm well aware of the weaknesses of my own attacks. I was trying to determine yours." Piccolo said, then dodged several hard punches from Leos after he reached Piccolo's location.

"I'm not like Pisces Namek. I will not be defeated as easily as he was." Leos said, sending his right arm around for another strong punch which Piccolo blocked with his left arm.

Pain shot up threw Piccolo's arm after Leos' attack landed.

"_So far it looks like Leos strength is in melee combat, in which case I should try to keep my distance." _Piccolo thought to himself.

Piccolo immediately flew into the sky, Leos of coarse, predictively following.

"Lets see how you handle this." Piccolo said, rapidly firing hundreds of small blasts of energy in Leos direction.

Leos easily avoided each of the fast moving energy blasts, finally crossing his arms and flying in midair, not moving from his current position.

"This attack again Namek? It did not work against Android 17, what makes you think it will work against someone far stronger such as myself?" Leos said

"You assumed I was using the Hellzone Grenade technique didn't you? Well I hate to disapoint." Piccolo said with a smile.

"Well then, if not the Hellzone Grenade than what was the point of firing on me as you did? You should know I'm far to fast to be easily hit by such a clumsy attack." Leos said.

"I am aware of that. I felt your strength when you punched me, I wanted to see how fast you were. It was merely a test of your abilities." Piccolo said calmly as the explosion from his attack finally occurred some distance away.

"I'm growing impatient with your tests Namek. Are you going to seriously fight me or not? Wait, don't answer that. If you will not put your all into this battle, than I will." Leos said, placing his hands in a familiar stance.

Piccolo immediately felt a sense of deja vu.

"_My first battle after Kami and I fused was against Cell, and one of the first things Cell did in that fight was surprise me by using the Kamehameha Wave. Unless this guy either trained with Mr. Roshi, or possesses genetic knowledge of the technique like Cell, there should be no possible way he knows such a technique." _Piccolo thought to himself.

"You know the Kamehameha Wave?" Piccolo asked

"Oh this isn't the Kamehameha Wave." Leos said as tiny fragments of orange energy collected in Leos' hands.

"It looks like the Kamehameha Wave to me." Piccolo said

"I developed this technique by watching films of you and your friends' many battles, particularly Goku's battles. I think you will find this technique far superior to a simple Kamehameha Wave." Leos said as an orb of orange, glowing energy formed in his hands.

Not saying another word, Leos launched his attack at Piccolo.

"Pyro Wave!" Leos yelled, firing his attack. Piccolo crossed his arms over his chest as an enormous energy beam of orange energy and fire streaked towards him.

Piccolo knew trying to dodge the attack would be pointless, considering the speed it was traveling at. He could use Instant Transmission, but the attack would likely then strike and do damage to the Earth itself. All the Z-Fighters had sworn not to rely on the Dragonballs after the Shadow Dragon incident. It was a wise policy, and one Piccolo intended on following.

Piccolo roared with pain as the Pyro Wave struck him. Moments later when the attack had run its coarse, Piccolo's gold and crimson outfit had burn marks over it.

"One Namek, Extra Crispy." Leos said, laughing at his own joke.

"_I can't hope to defeat this guy if I have to worry about possible damage to the planet. In that case there is only one option. I will have to take this guy to another planet, or at least another location." _Piccolo thought to himself.

Leos approached Piccolo. Piccolo could not tell if the Neo Saiyan was going to attempt melee combat again or if he had something else planned. Regardless, Piccolo placed a hand on Leos, and before the red headed warrior could react, Piccolo used Instant Transmission to transport the two of them to some sort of hellish volcanic place.

This world had been one of many visited by Piccolo as he searched for a stable and uninhabited world where he could use the Black Star Dragonballs freely without worry. The planet was actually a moon, and could be best described as an unstable, fiery hellhole as far as Piccolo was concerned. The sky was lit on fire by the world wide volcanic activity, glowing always a warm orange-red color. The moon's surface was black as obsidian, with rivers of orange magma breaking up the otherwise completely black surface. In the sky was an enormous orange gas giant world, as well as two other moons, one of which was blue in coloration, the other a dull grey.

On arrival both fighters immediately noticed the temperature. The moon's climate was much warmer than Earth's normal temperatures. Even at the moon's coldest areas, the climate made the hottest tropical climates on Earth seem like the artic circle.

Piccolo hated the heat, it reminded him of his time in Hell. Before Niiro Shenron had gifted him with his new powers, Piccolo was certain that the temperature alone would quickly overwhelm him, but while uncomfortable, Piccolo was otherwise unaffected.

Leos on the other hand seemed to enjoy the heat. The two fighters separated seconds after arriving on this world. Each stood facing the other on large plateau made of obsidian.

"Thanks for the change in scenery Namek. I have to say this is a much better location for our fight, for me that is." Leos said

With no further warning Leos launched himself at Piccolo. The two then engaged in a furious exchange of punches and kicks. Piccolo managed to dodge one punch, which caused Leos to strike the obsidian plateau they were previously standing on. The plateau cracked apart almost like ice.

Leos then roared, and to Piccolo's surprise Leos next two attacks took the form of two fiery fists. Dodging the attacks as best he could, Piccolo yelled and sent a strong yellow beam of energy into Leos' chest, an attack which sent Leos far into the distance.

Piccolo flew as fast as he could and managed to get behind Leos. Piccolo then proceeded to grab Leos arms and reorientate the two of them so they were both head-first towards the ground.

Leos yelled as both he and Piccolo plummeted towards the ground as Piccolo executed a Piledriver attack on his opponent. In seconds the two fighters slammed into the hot surface of the moon, and from the smoke created from the attack, Piccolo flew upwards.

Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Piccolo quickly prepared and fired another attack.

"Sacred Beam Cannon!" Piccolo yelled as he launched a white spiral beam into the smoke cloud where Leos was located.

"Just to make sure." Piccolo said, then fired hundreds of yellow blasts of energy into the smoke cloud. The blasts caused a large explosion followed by a volcanic eruption in the area.

Piccolo could no longer sense his opponent, but he knew from experience that that did not necessarily mean the battle was over.

Piccolo instincts proved correct as Leos suddenly emerged from the lava and flew to a location near Piccolo.

"Not only did your attempt at destroying me not work Namek, it made me stronger. I don't know about you but I'm done with the warm ups, how about we fight for real." Leos said.

"I couldn't agree more." Piccolo said with a smile as he grabbed his turban with his right hand, then threw it down onto the ground. The turban slammed into the ground as though it were a metior. Piccolo wasn't done yet however, and used his left hand to rip off his cape and throw it to the ground just as he had done with his turban seconds earlier.

Piccolo then landed on the ground near Leos and clutched his hands into fists as he prepared to power up.

"Come Piccolo, show me your full power." Leos said

Piccolo ignored Leos and began to yell as he began powering up. A visible aura of light materialized around Piccolo's body as his power grew. Soon the area shook from Piccolo's growing power. Finally Piccolo stood at the top his game.

"Not bad Namek, now its my turn." Leos said, then yelled as a flame-like aura of orange and red energy erupted into existence around him. In seconds Leos' form changed so that he resembled molten metal. Leos' eyes became red orbs of flame as he gazed upon Piccolo.

"One Thousand Fires" Leos yelled, as tiny fireballs emerged from Leos' aura and flew towards Piccolo. Piccolo in a display of great speed leapt from his location, not only avoid Leos' attack but landing a fierce uppercut to Leos' head.

While Leos looked hurt from Piccolo's attack, Piccolo also found his hand was slightly burnt.

Leos opened his mouth and fired a beam of yellow and orange fiery energy point blank at Piccolo, who yelled as the blast carried him far away from his previous location on the moon.

An enormous explosion occurred as a vast stretch of territory was obliterated all at once due to Leos' attack.

Leos teleported over Piccolo, attempting to land a punch with his right fist to Piccolo's face. Piccolo however blocked Leos' attack with his left arm, brought his right arm around and slammed Leos with his own punch. Leos was sent flying backwards threw several active volcanoes.

Piccolo then used his speed to fly above Leos and fire a yellow beam of energy into Leos, who managed to block using both arms.

Leos and Piccolo landed on a flat plain of blackened soil. Leos immediately on landing fired another flaming orange and red blast from his mouth. In response Piccolo quickly fired a yellow beam from his right hand. The two were then locked in a beam struggle, each fighting against the strength of his opponent.

Soon it was apparent that Piccolo was winning the struggle, as Piccolo's beam soon overtook Leos. In seconds both attacks slammed into Leos. After emerging from yet another cloud of smoke, Leos began to laugh.

"Whats so funny?" Piccolo asked.

"I did not think fighting you would be this much fun Namek. I could do this forever." Leos said, his molten metal face twisting into a smile.

"I don't know about you Leos, but this is not a game to me. One of my friends, a former student, was killed by your associate Pisces. So you will excuse me If I'm not exactly enjoying myself right now." Piccolo said

"Your friend can be wished back, so why worry about such things and not dedicate yourself fully to our battle?" Leos asked.

"We can't just use the Dragonballs every time something like that happens. If we do another group of Shadow Dragons could appear." Piccolo said

"And the problem with that is?" Leos asked

"It could lead to the destruction of the entire universe." Piccolo said, not sure where this conversation was going.

"You and your friends have saved the universe before, if that happened you could no doubt do so again. If you thought fighting the Neo Force would mean no sacrifices on your part, you were wrong. I'm about as strong as you or Vegeta. Hydrus is easily more powerful than both of us. Nevermind Aquila or Neo Force Seven and Eight. Some of your friends are going to die, so unless you stop holding back and commit everything you have to this battle, lets just say things won't end well." Leos said

"I will take your advice under consideration. Now how about we continue?" Piccolo said

"Sounds like a plan Namek. How about I show you my strongest attack?" Leos said

"Bring it!" Piccolo yelled.

When Piccolo had begun this fight, he had expected a cold blooded killer or sadist like Pisces was. Instead it seemed Leos enjoyed fighting, not only that, but he seemed to have a sense of honor, even justice.

His anxiety over the battle seemed to melt away, and Piccolo decided to let himself enjoy the fight. It was a feeling he had not had in years.

"Alright Piccolo, lets see how you do against this. Meteor of Apollo!" Leos yelled as he rose into the air.

Suddenly all the heat and flames in the region seemed to collect in the form of an orb above Leos, who was now high above the moon's surface.

The flames and heat formed into a gigantic fireball, which Leos slammed with both his molten fists, an act which sent the meteor plummeting down towards Piccolo.

"Sacred Beam Cannon!" Piccolo yelled, sending the new and improved version of his old Special Beam Cannon up for a collision coarse with Leos' meteor. The white comet-like Sacred Beam Cannon collided with Leos' Meteor of Apollo, and in seconds both attacks disappeared in a tremendous explosion of heat and light.

Piccolo quickly blocked a series of punches from Leos after he teleported to his location seconds after the explosion. Soon afterwards the two fighters began yet another furious exchange of punches and kicks. The force from the battle sent shock waves outwards which destroyed several nearby volcanos.

Soon the entire area was reduced to a sea of orange magma. Piccolo and Leos continued their furious battle above the magma sea.

Leos teleported some distance away from Piccolo and yelled: "Pyro Wave!" sending his fiery interpretation of the Kamehameha once again in Piccolo's direction. Piccolo dodged the beam, but was caught wide open for Leos' next move.

"Arrows of Apollo." Leos yelled, pointing his right hand in Piccolo's direction. From the sea of magma five arrow-shaped missiles composed of fire emerged and took flight, each heading for Piccolo.

Piccolo quickly moved and dodged each arrow, then pointed his right hand towards Leos and yelled. "Masenko!"

A giant yellow beam of energy streaked towards Leos, who promptly flew threw the attack towards Piccolo, much to the later's surprise.

Leos slammed Piccolo with a fierce uppercut, sending Piccolo soaring upwards. Leos next slammed Piccolo with a series of fists encased in fire.

Piccolo managed to block Leos final punch, and then spun his left leg around and slammed Leos with a strong kick.

Leos fell into the sea of magma. Piccolo was beginning to think perhaps that bringing the Neo Saiyan to this moon had been a mistake.

No sooner did Leos fall into the magma then did he emerge again.

"Now we approach the moment of truth Piccolo. I sense you are almost at the point where you will begin to tire. I admire your desire to spare the Earth harm by transporting us here. However, this environment gives me a huge advantage over you." Leos said, crossing his arms.

"Then perhaps it is time once again for a change in scenery as you said." Piccolo said, then flew towards Leos.

"Oh no you don't. Apollo Meteor!" Leos yelled. This time his meteor attack was fueled by the sea of magma below them. All the lava traveled upwards, defying gravity itself as it formed a perfect sphere of fire above Leos.

Before Piccolo could get in range to transport the two of them somewhere Leos sent his Meteor downwards by slamming it with both fists directly towards Piccolo. Piccolo barely was able to dodge the attack, which soon crashed into a volcano in the distance. The entire moon soon began violently shaking, as fire and magma erupted from every volcano on the moon.

"Well Piccolo, it looks like your about to get your wish for a change in scenery, just not in the way you had hoped." Leos said with a smile.

"The moon is going to blow up, we need to leave now." Piccolo yelled.

"No. I say whoever survives the explosion of the moon is the winner of our fight." Leos said

Piccolo attempted to use Instant Tranmission, but for some reason the technique would not execute. Instead, Piccolo used all his remaining power to shield himself from the explosion he knew was coming.

From space, the fiery red moon orbiting the orange gas giant suddenly exploded. The force of the explosion caused a chain reaction which destroyed the blue and white moons nearby.

Piccolo awoke hours later. His body was extremely cold. He didn't even bother to open his eyes, as he knew he was in space.

Nearby Leos flew, still in his molten form.

"I owe you an apology Piccolo. When I destroyed the moon I did not tell you I could survive in outer space while in this form. It looks like your still alive though, so I guess our fight is a draw." Leos said

"We..aren't done..yet." Piccolo said, placing a hand on Leos right leg when he got close enough.

Quickly using instant transmission, Piccolo transported he and Leos to another world. This time they were on a rocky world with brown soil and a violet-hued sky. The world was neither too hot nor too cold.

Piccolo laying on the hard soil, let go of Leos' leg and got back onto his feet.

Piccolo's regal outfit had been badly torn from the explosion. It did not matter to Piccolo, as clothing could be replaced. Focusing, Piccolo used another of his new found abilities gifted to him by Niiro Shenron.

Using his regeneration abilities, Piccolo now had the ability to heal himself once every twenty-four hours. Leos marveled as the beat-up looking Piccolo began to heal, the smoking wounds and cuts disappearing.

In seconds Piccolo was back up to full strength.

"I underestimated you Piccolo. I promise you though, this world will be our last battleground." Leos said, forming a circle with his hands and pointing towards the violet sky above.

Piccolo recognized this as the artificial moon technique Pisces had used earlier. All of Piccolo's experience told him to not allow Leos to transform, but he ignored it. For some reason, he wanted this.

Leos fired a white orb of light into the sky, and quickly afterwards turned his full attention towards it, letting the artificial Blutz waves strike every part of his being. Leos' molten form glowed a bright white as the planet began to shake.

Leos had been incredibly powerful before, easily equal to Vegeta in his Super Saiyan Five state. However Piccolo felt his power increase by ten. A fiery collumn of energy reached into the heavens, expanding as Leos changed.

As Leos grew, his form became increasingly cat-like. His hands changed into claws, his face became like that of a huge lion. As the pillar of fire disappeared, Leos emerged as a giant golden lion with a red mane. His size easily rivaled that of a Great Ape.

The Lion spoke.

"In mythology there was a story depicting a lion which could not be harmed by mortal weapons. It was called the Nemean Lion. I think you will find my body is similar to that creature." Nemean Leos said with a large and loud voice.

Piccolo laughed seeing the huge beast. It had been a wile since he used the technique which he was about to use, years in fact. His new powers allowed him to increase his size while not losing speed, so the main weakness and reason he had not used this ability since his battle with Goku years ago had been removed.

"I think it is time you picked on someone your own size." Piccolo said, then began to grow until his size put him on equal footing with Nemean Leos.

"Impressive Piccolo, however my power is still greater than yours." Nemean Leos said.

"Lets test that theory." Piccolo said, beckoning Leos forward.

Nemean Leos leapt into the air at Giant Piccolo, who caught the beast. The two then fell backwards and rolled on the ground over mountains and large craters as each tried to overcome the other's strength.

Piccolo threw Nemean Leos as hard as he could into the distance. The huge lion collided with a large mountain. Piccolo pointed both his hands at Nemean Leos and yelled.

"Giant Masenko!" Piccolo yelled, sending two giant yellow blasts of energy in Leos' direction.

Nemean Leos roared, causing Piccolo's attack to dissipate harmlessly.

"Your power is nearly equal to my own. Not bad Namek." Nemean Leos said

Piccolo stretched out his arms and grabbed Leos by the head, then spun him around and tossed the giant cat into yet another mountain, which crumbled on impact.

Leos quickly righted himself and roared in Piccolo's direction, sending a giant orange beam of fiery energy towards the giant Namek.

Piccolo grabbed a nearby small mountain and tossed it at the incoming beam. Nemean Leo then leapt into the air towards Piccolo, attempting to pounce on the giant namek.

Piccolo saw the flash of light from Leos' claws, and immediately knew he did not want to be cut by those claws.

Piccolo grabbed the beast's head and the two fought in a contest of strength. Piccolo managed to force the giant lion backwards, then kicked the beast in the chest. Leos soon righted himself and dashed at Piccolo.

Piccolo fired a giant beam at the lion, who responded by jumping into the air.

"Leo Meteor!" Leos said, spinning around rapidly in the sky. In seconds Nemean Leos became a meteor which promptly headed towards Piccolo.

Piccolo knew if that attack struck the planet, it, much like the fiery moon earlier, would be destroyed. Piccolo knew if that happened he likely would not survive another world exploding, so he did something that was seemingly insane, and grabbed the meteor with his bare hands.

Piccolo next leapt into the air as best he could in his giant body, and delivered a strong kick to the underside of the meteor, an act which sent the meteor flying out of the planet's thin atmosphere and into outer space.

Pointing both hands in the direction of Nemean Leos, Piccolo fired the largest attack he had ever created.

"_Well done Piccolo. This will be, a warrior's death. At last we will be together my love." _Leos thought, thinking of a woman with scarlet hair as the beam of energy sent by Piccolo approached.

The attack, which took the form of a incredibly enormous blast of white energy, streaked into space and collided with the Meteor, which promptly exploded in a display that lit the rocky planet's dim surface.

Piccolo, exhausted from the battle and nearly out of power, promptly shrunk back down into his normal size. He knew he had won. Unlike the last battle, Piccolo felt good about winning. It was a good fight.

On Earth, Hydrus looked upwards into the sky.

"Looks like that fool Leos finally lost. In that case its my turn." Hydrus said in a voice that sounded both craven and cowardly. The thin, creepy looking Neo Saiyan flew a short distance and pointed towards the group of Z-Fighters just as Piccolo appeared.

"Which of you fools is next?" Hydrus said, fighting the urge to laugh at how pathetic the group looked.

"Your buddy killed my brother, I want justice. That means I will be your opponent." Gohan said, casting a sharp gaze in Hydrus' direction.

Piccolo, laying on the ground near Trunks, weakly spoke.

"Gohan..be careful, he is strong." Piccolo said weakly.

"Thankyou for the warning, but I have to do this Piccolo." Gohan said.


	11. Tainted Earth

On Earth the surrounding landscape of green moved as a strong breeze blew threw the area.

Hydrus was a thin man, looking as if he was suffering from starvation. He had green eyes and long scraggly black hair. Like all the other members of Neo Force seen so far, Hydrus wore a blue piece of Saiyan chest armor, along with black pants and boots.

Gohan stood in stark contrast to Hydrus. Gohan was well-muscled and well built, looking like a shorter-haired version of his father. Gohan could already sense what kind of person Hydrus was by the faint evil he sensed from the craven man.

Hydrus looked impatient.

"We can start this fight any day now Gohan." Hydrus said.

Gohan responded by yelling as he quickly powered up to Super Saiyan Three. Gohan now lacked eyebrows and had long waist-length spiky golden hair. He looked quite formidable, but Hydrus did not seem impressed.

"If that is the best you can do your in trouble Saiyan. Let me demonstrate." Hydrus said, stretching his arms out towards Gohan.

Gohan fired a weak energy blast at Hydrus, sending the Neo-Saiyan backwards quite a distance and into a large rocky hill.

Seconds after impact the hill exploded in a display of power as Hydrus emerged.

"A weak blast, from a weak person." Hydrus said as he got up out of the remains of the hill and walked slowly towards Gohan.

Gohan in his heart of hearts was not like his father or Vegeta. He trained and fought not because of the fun of it, but because he wished to protect the people he cared about, as well as all those who could not help themselves.

As far as Gohan was concerned, although this battle had only begun, it already had gone on long enough.

Placing his hands in a familiar pose, Gohan began to say the name of his father's favorate attack.

"Kame"

"That technique? Why can't you relatives of Goku come up with something different for a change. Oh wait..you can't, that is why all your good for is dying just like Goten did." Hydrus said with a cruel smile.

Gohan knew Hydrus was trying to get him angry. He did not care. Nobody talked about his little brother like that.

"Hameha!" Gohan yelled, firing a large blue beam in Hydrus direction.

The snake Neo-Saiyan easily avoided the attack by ducking under it. Hydrus quickly got back onto his feet and looked at Gohan almost hungrily.

"If that attack was the best you had, then allow me to show you my best attack in this form." Hydrus said, then began to yell as the earth around him seemed to simmer with energy.

In seconds five crystals of different colors emerged from the soil and in a circular formation, spun above Hydrus' head.

"Crystal Laser!" Hydrus said

The gems each fired a small beam towards the center of the formation, forming a much larger pool of energy. That energy soon flew outwards towards Gohan, who was barely able to avoid it.

"That attack is for fun. I actually don't consider it a serious combat move, as it takes way to long to set up, much like your ridiculous Kamehameha Wave. Now I will show you a true combat move and you will see why you were doomed the moment you decided to be my opponent." Hydrus said with a happy tone in his craven voice.

Gohan did not intend on letting Hydrus attack. For him this wasn't a game. Gohan yelled as he flew towards Hydrus, a strong punch aimed at the snake's head. Hydrus was sent backwards with a painful grunt after Gohan's punch hit true. Gohan continued his assault and slammed Hydrus' chest several times with yet more punches.

Gohan would have continued, but Hydrus had other plans. Gohan's next punch painfully impacted the hard surface of a red crystal. After that Hydrus looked into Gohan's eyes, Hydrus normally snakelike green eyes flashing red.

Nearby the other fighters watched, all wondering what was going on.

"What is Hydrus doing to Gohan?" Bardock asked

"He is turning him into stone." Vegeta said flatly.

Gohan's form slowly began to change color. Gohan realized what was happening and quickly flew a distance away. He looked at his left arm, it was completely petrified. Luckily nothing else had been effected..yet.

"Even though you managed to get away in time, your strength is now effective cut by one quarter its previous amount. Without the use of both arms you can't use that stupid Kamehameha attack. I on the other hand, have quite afew techniques I can use against you." Hydrus said

"_Melee attacks are out of the question. If I just match eyes once with him, its all over. I have to try ranged attacks." _Gohan thought.

"You think I can't use a Kamehameha with only one arm right? Well your wrong." Gohan said

"What? You must be joking." Hydrus said

"The joke is on you...Kamehameha!" Gohan yelled, firing a strong blue energy beam from his one good hand in Hydrus' direction.

Hydrus' sheer surprise allowed the attack to hit its mark, sending Hydrus far away, crashing into the side of a skyscraper in the remains of West City.

Gohan immediately felt his petrified arm change back into flesh. Before he could feel relieved however, he already felt Hydrus' power begin to increase.

Gohan's muscle mass and hair length increased as Gohan began his transformation into his Mystic Super Saiyan Three form. Gohan's hair became gold with red edges, and markings on his chest that resembled a bat or some other flying creature appeared. Gohan's tail, which had been hidden, appeared and grew to be slightly thicker at the end, and becoming crimson in coloration. Gohan's orange shirt ripped away due to Gohan's larger body and muscle mass, completely his transformation.

Not wasting a second, Gohan flew over to Hydrus' location. The snake-like Neo Force member was surrounded by a green energy field similar in appearance to a tornado.

"You think your the only one with the ability to increase your power with transformations Saiyan? Your sadly mistaken if you think that is so." Hydrus yelled.

Gohan already felt an increase in Hydrus' power. Piccolo had warned him that Hydrus was much stronger than the previous two Neo Force members. The levels of power Hydrus was starting to give off erased any doubt in Gohan's mind about that fact.

Hydrus skin changed to a green coloration. His legs grew together and changed shape, becoming a long serpentine tail. Hydrus' head lost its hair, which was replaced by the hood of a cobra. Hydrus' skinny chest bulked up as muscles grew. The scale color of the tail was a golden color, in contrast to the green that dominated most of his new body.

Hydrus grinned with his now much more snakelike mouth, and immediately dashed towards Gohan, who in response, dashed at Hydrus with an powerful fist aimed at Hydrus' head.

The two attackers collided, sending out a shockwave that toppled several nearby abandoned buildings and even knocked Bardock and Vegeta over when it reached them.

Gohan and Hydrus then began a furious exchange of melee attacks. Gohan aimed two punches at Hydrus form as the two flew a short distance above the destroyed city below. Hydrus was able to block both punches, but did not take into account Gohan's right leg slamming him in the side with a fierce kick.

Hydrus quickly powered up two green energy blasts and sent them towards Gohan. Gohan broke away and flew a safe distance to avoid his opponent's attack.

"Crystal Bomb!" Hydrus yelled as a gigantic red gemstone emerged from the ground and rocketed towards Gohan. Gohan turned around and fired a Kamehameha at the crystal, which simply exploded, knocking Gohan onto the ground.

"In my normal form my eyes are able to petrify targets only if they look into my eyes closely. Remember my Crystal Laser? Well in this form it isn't just for show." Hydrus said as ten long crystals of various colors emerged from the ground and began to circle above Serpent-Form Hydrus head.

"Petrifying Laser!" Hydrus said as the circle of crystals formed a rainbow colored beam, firing the deadly attack in Gohan's direction.

Gohan easily dodged the beam. When the beam followed him, Gohan immediately flew towards Hydrus. He had a plan.

"_I remember father telling me one of the main reasons he was able to defeat Frieza on Namek was because he tricked Frieza into hitting himself with his own attack. Lets hope Hydrus here has the brain of a snake and falls for the same trick." _Gohan said, firing small blasts of energy at Hydrus, one of which struck him in the face.

"You will pay for that Saiyan!" Hydrus said

"Super Masenko!" Gohan yelled, firing a large yellow-orange beam which struck Hydrus in the chest.

Gohan could tell he had successfully distracted Hydrus, and flew around Hydrus' large serpentine tail just as the Petrifying Laser struck its master.

Hydrus yelled out, seemingly in agony, as his body changed completely to stone.

Gohan landed and truely had thought he had won, when Hydrus began to speak, a snake-like tongue emerging from his serpentine mouth.

"This is soooo awful, I can't even move. I don't want to be a garden statue!" Hydrus said

Suddenly Hydrus' body reverted back to its normal green color.

"Nice try Gohan. I had a feeling you would try something like that, so I led you on thinking you were in charge of the battle's direction. Unfortunately, for you that is, that I was in charge the entire time. Now to punish you for you insolence." Hydrus said

Gohan began rapidly firing small yellow energy blasts at Hydrus, but each only bounced off the monster's chest harmlessly.

"Magnitude Eight!" Hydrus yelled, shaking his tail much like a rattlesnake.

All around the earth itself began to shake. Gohan was knocked onto the ground and found himself unable to move.

Seconds later, the Earthquake stopped, and Hydrus lowered his head so that his eyes matched Gohan's

Gohan refused to look directly in Hydrus eyes, knowing what would happen to him if he did.

"You can't resist forever Gohan. Eventually you will look into my eyes and turn to stone." Hydrus said

"Not today monster." Gohan said, tossing a weak yellow energy blast into Hydrus' face.

Yelling in annoyance in pain, Hydrus hold over Gohan was gone and Gohan flew into the air high-above his snake-like opponent.

"I'll finish this the same way I once finished Cell. Kamehameha!" Gohan yelled, sending a Kamehameha Wave of a size that had not been seen since his battle with Cell years ago directly towards a stunned Hydrus.

Hydrus recovered too late to see an enormous blue comet descending upon him.

Meanwhile..Elsewhere.

Goten awakened and slowly opened his eyes. He remembered dying because of a cruel trick the Neo Force member Pisces had used on him.

Quickly getting back on his feet, Goten looked over himself, seeing he was wearing his usual white shirt and violet jeans, both of which were strangely undamaged.

After inspecting himself, Goten looked around at his surroundings. The sky was a deep indigo, and Goten could see several blue moons in the sky above the world's pristine green grass and trees.

"I see your awake Goten." A familiar voice said from nearby.

Goten turned to see Kibito-Kai. The Kai still had his long white hair, light purple skin, and red outfit from the last time Goten had seen him.

"Oh, hello Kibito Kai. One question. Am I dead?" Goten asked.

"I'm afraid so Goten. If your wondering why your here and not at King Yemma's place, it is because we brought you here directly after you arrived unconscious on Snake Way." Kibito Kai said solemnly.

"But why bring me here? If it is for training, I'd need years of it to be any good in a fight." Goten said

"I can answer that question." Yet another familiar voice said.

Goten turned his head slightly to the left and saw another familiar face. Standing tall in his white Kai robe was the golden winged form of Kohryu. His face still was wise looking with his short white hair and mustache.

"Kohryu what are you doing here?" Goten asked.

"I'm filling in as Grand Supreme Kai until such time as new Kais arrive who are able to fill the vacant positions left from Maijin Buu's attack." Kohryu said, pausing before speaking again.

"Like your brother, you have a lot of potential. We are going to need the best fighters this universe has to offer to avert what is coming. With that in mind I have prepared a special place for you to train." Kohryu said.

"Something like the Hyperbolic Time Chamber or Room of Space and Time I hope?" Goten asked

"Aren't those one and the same?" Elder Kai said as he walked over from behind Kibito Kai.

"Yes, I was just messing with you." Goten said, glad to know his sense of humor had not disappeared when he died.

"I have something better in mind for your training. Enough talk though, it would be best if I simply showed you." Kohryu said.

In a flash Goten and Kohryu disappeared from the world of the kais and reappeared on a vast field of gold. Above was a sky which looked perpetually in sunset, with vibrant hues of orange, yellow, and red.

"This place is called the Millennium Realm. Here one day on Earth is equal to ten years. At your current amount of strength you will likely need about two days worth of time here, or about twenty years." Kohryu said.

"Twenty years!" Goten said in shock.

"Don't worry, I never intended on leaving you alone to train. In order for you to make any progress you will need a sparing partner and teacher." Kohryu said as his eyes briefly let up a vibrant yellow.

Suddenly a humanoid with red skin and dragon wings materialized a short distance from Goten.

"Nuova Shenron will be your teacher." Kohryu said.

"So your Goku's younger son. I did not get a chance to interact with you much before my death, but your father has said he has great hopes for you." Nuova said with a friendly smile.

"You have spoken with my father recently?" Goten asked.

Nuova did not answer in words, merely nodding in response to Goten's question.

"Yes I think this arrangement will work out well for the both of you. I will be sending opponents for you Goten every so often in order to check your progress, so make sure you are serious about your training. Oh, and you will not age here. The effects of entropy do not exist in this diamension." Kohryu said with a smile.

"Don't worry Goten, I for one will not allow you to slack off." Nuova said with a friendly, yet serious expression on his face.

"Twenty years.." Goten said with a sigh.

Back on Earth...

Gen checked all the energy parameters. All the readings on every black computer monitor read as positive. Adjusting a few buttons and pulling a few levers, Gen began the transference of power in order to summon General Terra to this world.

Behind him, Krysis watched, his expression hidden behind his red mask.

When the time gate hummed and the image of the hellish black world came into existence, Gen could tell Krysis was pleased.

Gen quickly adjusted afew last minute settings as Terra stepped threw the portal. In seconds Terra had crossed over to this side of the portal, his black armor nearly blending in with the darkness of the room.

Gen quickly turned the portal off after Terra was completely threw.

Terra immediately bowed before Krysis.

"It is a pleasure to be in your presence again my Lord Krysis." General Terra said, his white skinned face twisting into an expression of pleasure.

"General Terra, welcome to our new world." Krysis said

"I was told I will receive an elite group of fighters in order to conquer this world and the surrounding galaxy with." General Terra said

"Four of the Six Neo Force members have already met this world's defenders in combat." Krysis said

"Ah yes, the Z-Fighters you have been using a campaign of misinformation against." General Terra said

"That is correct. Once the Z-fighters who are a true threat to us are eliminated, we can focus on solidifying out grip on this world." Krysis said

"Krysis sir, the portals are in place around the planet that will gate in the rest of your army, they just need power in order to work." Gen said

"Thankyou Gen. With that your time as a useful idiot is over. Do not worry though, you served me well these past few months, so I have discovered a new use for you." Krysis said.

Fear suddenly gripped Gen. He adjusted his white tie.

"Surely sir my genius and my company can be of further use." Gen said

Gen had seen this coming. Unfortunately his plan was not ready yet. Apparently Krysis time table was much quicker than he had thought.

Backing into the wall in fear, Gen could already feel a strong mental force exerting its will upon him. There was an empty blue tank, the kind that Gen had kept the Neo Force members in while they underwent their metamorphosis. This tank had been used by Trunks.

To Gen's horror the telekinesis lifted Gen over the tank.

"Krysis, please..I'll do anything you want..I'll." Gen said in utter fear.

"You will serve me this point forward much better as a member of Neo Force. Don't worry Gen..I always intended this fate for you. You will be the strongest Neo Saiyan." Krysis said.

"But why?" Gen asked

"I knew you would try to betray me at a future date. I am just preventing that from happening. But why kill you when you have been so useful up to now? This is the best of both worlds. Eliminating a traitor, and gaining an ally." Krysis said

As Gen was lowered into the blue fluid, he could think of only one thing.

"_The same tank I manipulated Trunks into. I hate karma." _Gen said before losing consciousness.

Near West City...

Hydrus had been badly hurt by Gohan's attack, yet he still lived.

As Gohan approached, ready to inspect the snake's body, Hydrus stood once again with a sinister smile on his snake-like face.

Moving his hands into a circle, Hydrus fired a white beam of energy high into the sky. The light from the artificial moon bombarded Hydrus. Gohan knew what that meant. In afew seconds Hydrus would transform yet again, this time into a monster that he would have no hope of defeating.

He only had one option, and he knew it was a risky one.

Gohan dived in from of the artificial blutz waves. His Mystic Super Saiyan Three body began to glow white, much like Hydrus.

Hydrus grew into a massive cobra with three tails and red eyes, all traces of his human origins gone.

Gohan meanwhile grew into a giant golden ape with the same bat-like tattoos on his chest that were present in his previous form.

Even Gohan's resolve and controlled rage could not keep the primal mind of the Oozaru at bay, and soon Gohan found himself reduced to a rampaging monster.

Mystic Gold Oozaru Gohan beat his chest with his hands and gazed angrily at the nearby giant snake.

The serpent Hydrus had become was far larger than even the giant ape. The creature's head alone was the size of Gohan.

"I now have taken the form of the Ouroboros, the infinite serpent. No rampaging monkey will ever be a match for me in this form." Ouroboros Hydrus said with a voice that could be heard for a great distance around.


	12. Warriors and Tyrants

As Vegeta and Bardock stared at the impossibly large snake as well as Great Ape Gohan, they could feel, if it were possible, three more additional large powers headed towards them.

Neither Saiyan could really see the three newcomers as they landed next to Aquila. One had long white hair. Vegeta could not shake the feeling he had seen the white haired being before. The second newcomer was a tall figure wearing black armor. Only his white face was exposed. The third and final newcomer was a woman with long dark black hair who wore a feminine variation of the standard blue saiyan armor most of the Neo Force wore.

With the arrival of the three all Neo Force members were now revealed. Bardock could only hope Gohan overcame the Great Ape's primal mind, otherwise Hydrus would kill him.

However far away in what could rightly be called the other side of the universe, on the world of the supreme kais, someone wicked had arrived on the sacred world.

The leader of the Supreme Kais, Kohryu, seemed to be watching something in the vast sky of the world. The intruder did not care what each of the three Kais on the world were doing. Rather, the intruder choose to attack. The red haired youth pulled out a small, but very sharp katana like sword from a black scabbard on the right side of his back, and ran towards Kohryu.

Kohryu slowly turned his head, but it was too late. The Kai-dragon suddenly found his body impaled by the intruder's sword.

"So your Krysis, you won't win in the end. You should know that." Kohryu said as his blood flowed over the blade, staining it red.

The youth's expression was hidden behind his red mask, but the tone in his voice was anything but hidden.

"On the contrary. The time of the Kai has come to an end. A revolution is now beginning, and beings like you are obsolete." Krysis said, pulling his sword out of Kohryu's chest.

"Elder Kai, Kibito Kai, get out of here now!" Kohryu managed to say before Krysis drew another sword from the left side of his back and stabbed Kohryu before he could react.

Kohryu doubled over in pain as Krysis withdrew his second blade from the Kai's body. Luckily both the lesser kais had successfully fled, as they were nowhere to be seen.

"I have what I came here for, your life may go on, or you may die, either way I don't really care." Krysis said with a slight chuckle.

Before Kohryu could do anything, Krysis suddenly disappeared in a flash of strange red energy.

Elsewhere in Otherworld...

King Yemma had years ago began to believe the Earth was cursed. Every few years for decades now his office had been flooded with the souls of those killed by whatever latest catastrophe had struck the planet. He and his subordinates tried their best to handle the massive workload, but between this latest increase in the amount of dead from Earth and the still ongoing investigation into Dabora's whereabouts, it was almost too much, even for someone as old and experienced as King Yemma.

King Yemma looked over his massive desk and noticed someone had delivered lunch. It was his favorite meal, pure beef flame-broiled in Hell. Hell was a horrible place, but the best Hamburgers in the universe originated there.

As King Yemma unwrapped the Burger, a frightened blue-skinned worker wearing glasses and short combed black hair ran in.

"King Yemma sir, the Grand Supreme Kai has been killed!" The white uniformed ogre said with alarm.

King Yemma would have spit out any food in his mouth if he had taken a bite of his sandwich, thankfully he had not.

"The last time I heard news like that was when Maijin Buu attacked. That was ages ago though. Who could have done this?" King Yemma asked, suddenly noticing a small red-haired teenager standing on his desk.

"I believe I can answer that oh Mighty King Yemma. It was I who killed him." Krysis said with a mock bow.

King Yemma thought the youth looked somewhat familiar, but he could not remember where he had seen the youth or anyone like him. The boy's clothing did not give anything away. He wore a kind of black pants common in martial arts on several worlds, and the red mask was nothing unique either. The metal arm was the boy's most unusual characteristic, but even a metal arm was nothing unique, not in King Yemma's line of work.

Before King Yemma could ask any questions of the mysterious youth, Krysis spoke again as he walked along the front of the colossal desk.

"I can see your future. You will ask a question, and die before it is answered." Krysis said.

"Who are you?" King Yemma asked, a feeling of fear growing within him.

Krysis leapt upwards at the massive Ogre King and drew both his swords. Krysis disappeared behind King Yemma, who promptly fell face-first onto his desk.

The Ogre workers all began to panic as they saw their master dead, a river of blood running down the length of the disk from Yemma's fatal wound.

Krysis landed in front of Yemma and spoke.

"Does that answer your question?"

On Earth...

"So Aquila, how is it possible that these weaklings defeated Pisces and Leos?" The black haired woman asked.

The woman was very beautiful, but had an aura of darkness and danger to her that kept any of the other Neo Force members from flirting with her or getting too close, except for Leos.

The brown haired goatee wearing man turned towards the female fighter at the mention of his name.

"They all have much more cunning and strength than we originally gave them credit for milady." Aquila said, bowing before the black haired woman.

"Corvus are you really surprised the Z-Fighters have proven this tenacious? You have seen records of their past battles have you not?" The man with long white hair and youthful features said.

"Gen of coarse I have. It is just that our ultimate forms are supposed to be unbeatable, you said so yourself." The woman, Corvus said.

"Well apparently I was mistaken. But mark my words, we will destroy them regardless of whatever abilities they have." Gen said with a sinister smirk.

"Then when we have done that Krysis will reward us all handsomely, as he has done for me countless times." Terra said.

In the distance Great Ape Gohan fired a powerful beam of energy from his primate mouth. The blast slammed with enough force to knock Hydrus' cobra-like head backwards.

Hydrus did not seem overall harmed by Gohan's random attack, and simply raised his head, laughing cruelly at Gohan's predicament.

"Your attempt at preventing me from gaining an unfair advantage over you failed miserably Gohan. Even with your increased power your strength is nowhere near my own. May I also add that power without the brains to use it is utterly useless?" Hydrus said, enjoying gloating over the animal-like Gohan.

In response, Gohan pounded his chest with both arms and roared in challenge to the enormous cobra that was Hydrus.

Hydrus decided he had enough of Gohan, and lunged at the Golden Great Ape with his fangs dripping a foul green liquid. The Great Ape somehow jumped over Hydrus' cobra head and onto the snake's back.

The Ape clung to the serpent with all the strength it could muster, to the great annoyance of Hydrus.

"Get your hands off me you damned dirty...damnit you nearly made me resort to quoting old movies." Hydrus said as he moved at high speed over the remains of West city.

The great ape roared as it fought to maintain a grip on Hydrus' scaly hide, Hydrus himself fully intent on ridding himself of his primate pest if it was the last thing he did.

Finally after a few minutes of the continuing struggle, Great Ape Gohan could no longer maintain his grip, and fell to the ground. Hydrus turned his body around and faced Gohan.

"I know your just an animal now, but I think it is time you felt the difference in our powers Gohan." Hydrus said with a serpentine grin.

In response Gohan pounded his chest and roared. Hydrus began moving his tail erratically. Nearby, where Vegeta and Bardock continued to watch the battle, Bardock could not help but have a horrible feeling.

"I cursed him." Bardock said softly. Despite keeping his voice at a low volume Vegeta could not help but overhear.

"How could anything you did possibly effect anything that is going on now?" Vegeta said, not liking Bardock's defeatist attitude.

"I said he shouldn't expect to win every battle, and now look at him. He doesn't have your training Vegeta, he cannot control himself in that form. Even if he could, Hydrus' power level is far greater than Gohan's." Bardock said with a concerned tone in his voice.

"Gohan is your grandson Bardock. If there is anything I have learned over the years about Kakorot's son, it is that like his father he always tends to have reserves of power that nobody even knew existed." Vegeta said.

"I have been in many battles Vegeta. My team and I were sent on hundreds of missions, to hundreds of different planets. More times than I can count the natives tried everything they could to defeat us, yet each time the sheer power of the Great Ape destroyed entire civilizations. This creature Hydrus has become has that big an advantage now over Gohan Vegeta." Bardock said sadly.

Vegeta was angry.

"I cannot believe that Kakorot has such a coward for a father. Listen and listen well Bardock. I have been on as many missions of genocide as you were, many even more. Don't think I don't know what the Oozaru form is capable of." Vegeta said with annoyance in his voice.

"Vegeta you do not understand." Bardock protested.

"No it is you who does not understand. Gohan is Kakorot's son. He may be the underdog in this fight right now, but he always overcomes any odds stacked against him, just like his father." Vegeta said, then turned away from Bardock was a sigh, crossing his silver-furred covered arms.

"Vegeta I hope your right. There isn't anyone here who wants him to win more than I do. I just recently had the opportunity to get to know my family. I don't want to lose yet another Grandson." Bardock said sadly.

"You may be a grandfather Bardock, but right now you sound like an old man. Have a little faith in your family." Vegeta said with a slight smile.

Vegeta was right. All of the ominous visions he had been seeing the past few days had been bothering him. The dark rider with its nihilistic proclamations had been clouding his judgment. He never had been a quitter in the past, yet now he predicted Gohan's defeat.

If Hydrus was on the verge of killing Gohan, Bardock decided he would step in. He had undergone many long years of training, so many hours growing stronger. Beings such as Frieza were nothing compared to him now. If it came down to it, the least he could do is show Hydrus exactly what he was capable of.

In the distance the battle between Monkey and Snake continued.

Hydrus stared down the defiant Oozaru with his serpentine eyes.

"Breathe of the Gorgon!" Hydrus yelled, spewing forth a spray of grey fumes in Gohan's direction. Somehow the Oozaru knew enough to dodge the blast by running forward. It was fortunate that even with the primal mind guiding his actions, he knew enough to stay out of the way.

Everything from the tiniest bits of metal to the smallest amount of grass was transformed on impact with the "Breathe of the Gorgon" into solid grey stone.

Hydrus turned his serpentine head in Gohan's direction as the golden oozaru continued to run on all fours.

"You got lucky that time Gohan. I won't miss twice. Breathe of the Gorgon!" Hydrus yelled, once again spewing forth the vile grey fumes.

Once again Gohan dodged Hydrus' deadly attack by simply continuing to move.

"I'm not sure how you keep managing to dodge my attacks." Hydrus said, deciding to change tactics.

Hydrus enormous snake form raced along the ground until the giant serpent overtook his golden great ape opponent. Curling around Gohan's body in the manner of a constrictor snake, Hydrus completely wrapped around Gohan. Not wasting any time Hydrus began to squeeze Gohan, causing the Great Ape to utter a pain-filled roar.

"Don't worry Gohan, it will all be over soon." Hydrus said cruelly.

Gohan's mind was a sea of darkness. All his doubts and fears circled around him, taking the forms of past foes who taunted Gohan, reminding him of his weakness.

Above, Gohan could feel a gigantic pressence. It was his own primal mind, a force which had overpowered Gohan's rational mind and was the force in control of his body.

In the real world, Hydrus was satisfied of the damage he had done by crushing Gohan, and unwrapped himself from his ape-like opponent.

The Golden Great Ape was on the ground, and looked exhausted and in pain.

"Looks like I win this one." Hydrus said as his fanged cobra head approached Gohan.

Before Hydrus could inject Gohan with his deadly venom, the Great Ape got up again and roared.

Suddenly the Golden Oozaru doubled in size and power, and then began to once again pound it's chest and roar a challenge to Hydrus.

"Where are you getting this power from? It seems playtime is over. It is time I finished you." Hydrus said, once again approaching Gohan with the intent to kill.

Gohan remembered his daughter. He remembered his wife, brother and father. He remembered all his friends, Piccolo, Trunks, even Vegeta.

He imagined Hydrus wrapping around the entire planet, sinking his fangs and poisoning the very world itself.

With a roar, Gohan was suddenly surrounded by a blue flame like aura.

Hydrus approached, fangs bared, as he prepared to kill Gohan. However before he could get close enough to deliver a fatal blow, the golden great ape began to change.

The giant oozaru form shrunk down, becoming human sized. Gohan had the sleek, stylized hair style he possessed after gaining his mystic powers from the Elder Kai years ago, but that was not all. Crimson fur covered Gohan's arms and most of his chest. The bat-like markings from his previous form covered Gohan's upper chest area. Unlike his previous Mystic Super Saiyan 3 form, Gohan's body was sleek and thin, but well muscled at the same time. Gohan looked at the world threw catlike yellow eyes surrounded by orange rings, eyes very similiar to his father's in his Super Saiyan Four form.

In form Gohan resembled himself from his late teen years.

Nearby Vegeta turned towards Bardock.

"Told you. Kakorot's son always comes threw." Vegeta said.

"That will be the last time I question your wisdom Vegeta." Bardock said with a smile.

Vegeta laughed briefly, and then turned his full attention once again towards the battle.

The new Mystic Super Saiyan Four Gohan looked up at Hydrus, who was hundreds of times his size, and smiled.

"You thought this battle was over. Well you were half-right. It is over alright..for you." Gohan said, flying upwards until he was at eye-level with Hydrus.

Before the snake could do anything Gohan placed his hands in the familiar stance of one about to execute the Kamehameha Wave technique.

"Meha Wave!" Gohan yelled, firing an indigo hued beam of energy directly into Hydrus' head.

The attack pieced the serpent's skull and in seconds Hydrus fell lifeless to the ground.

Gohan landed on the grass, looking upon his fallen opponent. He tried to sense if Hydrus energy was gone completely, or if the snake was playing a trick on him.

When Gohan heard the snake speak, he knew the latter was the truth.

"I do not perish so easily." Hydrus said, forcing his injured head up off the ground.

Gohan was wondering what Hydrus' game was. He had a fatal head wound, yet still he insisted that the battle was not over. Could Hydrus be hiding something big enough to be a game changer in this fight?

The answer to that question came very quickly, as Hydrus colossal serpent form began to once again glow white with energy.

"More Blutz waves? But how?" Gohan said as he looked around for another artificial moon.

Gohan had assumed that like the Saiyans, each of the Neo Saiyans only had one transformation that involved Blutz waves. When Gohan saw Hydrus begin to shrink, Gohan had a horrible feeling he knew just what exactly Hydrus was changing into.

Somehow, Hydrus had pushed beyond his beast transformation and was changing into a form which would rival the power of the Super Saiyan Four.

Gohan got into a combat stance. What ever was coming, this could be the start of the real battle.

Hydrus form was once again human sized. He wore a golden headpiece over a face that resembled a cross between that of a human and that of a snake. The headpiece was a crown which resembled those worn by an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh. Gold scales covered Hydrus-now well-muscled arms and chest. Black pants covered Hydrus' legs. An aura that resembled green flame covered the transformed Hydrus.

Hydrus briefly looked over his body and began to laugh.

"I never thought I'd have to use this form against any of you Z-fighters. We all thought that compared to us you were like insects. It is obvious now that we underestimated you. I hope you enjoyed the brief time you had the advantage Gohan, because that time is now officially over." Hydrus said

Gohan placed his hands once again in the familiar stance that usually meant a Kamehameha was on its way.

"I'm glad I was able to push you to your limits. Meha Wave!" Gohan yelled.

The Indigo beam once again soared towards Hydrus, who swatted the attack aside easily with his left hand.

Gohan then flew forward and attempted to punch Hydrus, but the snake folded his arms and flew above Gohan, dodging the attack.

Gohan then looked above, and quickly flew up, and then attempted to land another hard punch, but Hydrus moved further to the right, dodging Gohan's attack yet again.

"Your fighting style is very obvious, it is simple to avoid your attacks." Hydrus said with a cocky grin on his snake-like face.

"Lets see you dodge this!" Gohan said, placing his hands yet again in the familiar stance.

"Oh please." Hydrus said, rolling his eyes at Gohan's transparent battle strategy.

Right before Gohan announced his attack his stance suddenly changed, causing Hydrus' eyes to widen with surprise.

"Masenko Times TEN!" Gohan said, releasing a large orange beam at Hydrus, who was engulfed in a cloud of smoke upon impact. When the cloud dissipated Gohan was shocked to see Hydrus above the point of the blast.

"As I said before Gohan, your attack pattern is easy to figure out. I saw that attack coming before you even fired it." Hydrus said with a sinister smile.

"Then I'll just have to change my strategy a bit now won't I." Gohan said with a smile.

"There is no strategy you could come up with that I couldn't see past." Hydrus said with an arrogant tone to his voice.

Gohan rushed upwards and punched Hydrus in the face, then with both hands, slammed him in the chest, sending the snake flying backwards and downwards.

Gohan then teleported behind Hydrus and delivered a fierce roundhouse kick, sending Hydrus flying in the other direction.

But suddenly Hydrus stopped in midair and began to laugh.

"Very good Gohan. I enjoy a challenge, and so far you have delivered. But don't think you have any chance of winning." Hydrus said with an amused tone.

"And why would you think that?" Gohan asked, crossing his red furred covered arms.

"Before I became Hydrus, a Neo Saiyan, I was a special agent in my country's miliary. I specialized in knowing my enemy. I killed many men in my time Gohan. Experience has taught me there are only two kinds of people in this world." Hydrus said as a snake-like tongue briefly emerged from Hydrus' mouth.

"And what would that be?" Gohan asked.

"There are fools like yourself, who will willingly throw away your lives in the name of your loved ones or a righteous cause, and then there are the people who only care about their own survival. That is the way humans are. They live their pathetic lives as a constant routine. Everything is the same for them, day in, and day out. If someone or something throws a little chaos into humanity's precious orderly existence, they panic, even if such chaos leads to something better for them." Hydrus said

"I think I know where this is going. You believe human lives are worthless because they prefer the known to the unknown, and order and comfort to chaos and confusion. Am I wrong?" Gohan asked.

"They are not worthless because they cling to their routines and their order Gohan. Humanity is worthless because most people refuse to better themselves. They are intent on getting up for work, eating two to three meals a day or whatnot, and never once thinking that their existence could be better. At least the soldiers I killed wanted to live for more than just a routine existence. The fact is, the very people you are trying to save don't deserve your compassion. Need I remind you how their refusal to break from their precious order nearly resulted in Maijin Buu defeating your father and ending the entire universe? You must know I'm right." Hydrus said.

"Maybe your right. Maybe the majority of the people of this planet are as you have said. But that does not mean they can't change. It certainly does not mean they deserve to be slaughtered senselessly, no matter the reason." Gohan said

"I see your just as stubborn and self-righteous as your father." Hydrus said.

"You confuse self-righteousness for actual righteousness. You disregard for life will be your downfall Hydrus." Gohan said with conviction in his voice.

"And I suppose you will be the one to bring me to justice? Your so pathetically cliche its sad." Hydrus said.

Gohan flew forward and launched a flurry of punches at Hydrus. Each punch managed to hit the serpent but didn't seem to cause much damage. Hydrus then brought his left fist around and punched Gohan in the chest. Gohan was knocked backwards by the unexpected attack. Hydrus quickly followed up with his attack by grabbing Gohan with both arms and then flying over the ruins of West City.

Hydrus then plummeted downwards with Gohan tightly gripped and restrained.

Hydrus crashed threw the side of what remained of a skyscraper headfirst with Gohan held securely, until they came out the other side, causing quite a bit of damage to what remained of the structure.

Gohan screamed in pain, and Hydrus released him, a cruel expression on his snake-like face. Gohan staggered threw the air, barely able to fly.

Hydrus then smiled, and pointed both of his hands at Goku, then began firing green crystals at Gohan, each hit produced a bit of smoke. Eventually Gohan was consumed in a cloud of smoke and fire.

When the dust and smoke cleared, Gohan was further bruised and battered, and clearly very angry.

Gohan flew forward with a flying punch and nailed Hydrus right in the jaw, then flew backwards just in time to avoid Hydrus arms from grabbing him again.

Gohan delivered a fierce flying kick to the serpent's chest, then powered up a small orange energy blast at point blank and fired. This time it was Hydrus who was engulfed in a small explosion.

Gohan flew backwards away from the explosion, yelled "Meha Wave!", sending his Indigo-hued beam at the still thick smoke cloud. Gohan could hear the cry of pain from the cloud as the beam hit its mark.

When the cloud dissipated Hydrus was bruised and battered, but still intact.

"I'll make you feel pain!" Hydrus said angrily.

Hydrus placed his hands into a triangle shape, and slowly green energy began to gather, apparently forming a crystal of some kind.

Gohan thought Hydrus looked open, and decided to attack, he soared towards Hydrus and attempted to land a hard punch to the snake's gut, but before he could get near, Hydrus fired his attack, a crystal missile of the deepest green. The attack soared at Gohan, who flew high into the air to avoid it. To Gohan's surprise the attack followed him, homing in on him like some kind of heat-seeking missile. Gohan had experienced homing attacks before, and he attempted to use the inherit weakness of all homing attacks against Hydrus. But before Gohan could manipulate the crystal into hitting Hydrus, to his surprise the emerald crystal increased in speed and finally struck Gohan in the back.

Gohan cried in pain as he was consumed in an enormous explosion.

"Now do you understand Gohan? It is pointless to protect the weak. Only your own strength matters, your own survival. The weak perish, and the strong survive. Such is the true nature of existence." Hydrus said, his green flame like aura seemingly intensifying as he spoke.

As the smoke cleared, Gohan stood with a strong orb of crimson energy in his outstretched right hand.

"You know nothing of the true nature of existence Hydrus. The weak may die, but together they can be much more than they are alone. This attack originally belonged to my grandfather. It is called the Riot Javelin. If you truly believe you are strong, than let us see how you stand against this." Gohan said.

Before Hydrus could say a word Gohan threw the grenade-like attack in Hydrus direction. Hydrus was not expecting much from the attack, which was why he was totally unprepared when it struck him.

Pain enveloped Hydrus' entire body as the energy from the riot javelin fought to rip the serpent apart. Hydrus yelled in pain.

"Meha Wave!" Gohan yelled, firing his indigo beam attack at Hydrus.

Hydrus' body disintegrated, the combined power of Gohan's two attacks more than enough to finally finish the snake Neo Force member off.

Gohan landed near Bardock and Vegeta.

"Gohan you did well, but we are not out of the woods yet." Piccolo said weakly nearby.

Both Piccolo and Trunks were still recovering from their earlier battles. If there ever was a time for sensu beans, now was that time.

The tall brown haired Neo Force member known as Aquila flew over and approached the group.

"You all have done exceedingly well to make it all the way to me. I am afraid however that your last opponent will be me." Aquila said.

"That is what you think." Bardock said, stepping forward.

"Are you implying that you will be my next opponent Saiyan?" Aquila asked, his eyes gazing upon Bardock like a hawk studying its prey.

"I am implying, yes." Bardock said.

"The father of Goku. This will be an interesting battle." Aquila said.

Somewhere high above the Earth, a long green dragon flew. Down past the clouds and over land and sea, a certain Eternal Dragon had returned.


	13. A Guardian's Story

Trunks flew over the frozen tundra alongside two of his fellow Time Guardians. All three wore the standard golden chest armor and black pants of the guardians, and each carried his own weapon.

"This area below is where the heart of the time anomaly was detected. We should go down for a closer look." The eldest of the three Guardians said.

Pelleas was the most experienced, as well as one of the bravest Guardians in the entire order. As such he had been assigned a command role over the less experienced Trunks and Gareth.

Pelleas was tall and powerfully built. He had a handsome tan-colored face and silver hair which he kept at a reasonable length.

Gareth was a youth, looking no older than sixteen perhaps, with short brown hair.

"I hope we run into an opponent for once. We always get the worst assignments." Gareth said as the trio flew down and landed in the snow.

"As far as you are concerned Sir Gareth, I would not say your ready for any missions that involve one of our many enemies. Take this opportunity to learn." Pelleas said

The trio now had a good view of the time-space anomaly. In this version of Earth, this area had been the scene of two particularly historic battles. The anomaly took the form of a distorted image, alternating between scenes of blue uniformed soldiers with muskets, and soldiers with much drabber uniforms, all with a strange red and black symbol on their uniform sleeves.

"Sir Pelleas sir, if I am correct this tundra was the site of both Napoleon and Hitler's defeat on the Russian front in this timeline." The lavender haired youth Trunks said.

"You are correct Trunks. I believe something has created a rift in this historic location, we need to close this anomaly before it can grow into a threat to this timeline." Pelleas said.

"Since this is Gareth's first time closing an anomaly like this, why don't we give him the honors?" Trunks suggested, looking at his brown-haired younger teammate.

"I don't see why not. Sir Gareth, you have the honors." Pelleas said with a smile.

Gareth did not say a word as he reached to his back and pulled out a short sword with a gold hilt. Gareth leapt into the air and in seconds his weapon come in contact with the anomaly. The anomaly sparked with some kind of blue electricity before disappearing completely.

"That was not a very strong rift, I'm disappointed." Gareth said as he placed his sword back inside the scabbard on his back.

"Patience, you will get a tougher challenge eventually. Feel fortunate that it will come when your strong enough to confront it. Not all are so fortunate." Pelleas said with a hint of sorrow in his voice.

With the rift closed, Pelleas pressed a button on the silver gauntlet on his right hand. Immediately the three guardians vanished and reappeared in a large white room.

They had returned to the hollowed halls of the Time Fortress, a sacred place which existed over all timelines, and in none of them.

It was believed the fortress had been created at some unknown point in the past by an ancient race known as the Seraphim. It was said the Seraphim were an order of angelic beings with untold strength, wisdom and courage that commanded armies of lesser angelic beings. In their ages long battle against evil the Seraphim had constructed the Time Fortress in order to watch over and protect all the various timelines.

In the earliest days of the Time Guardians, many years after the Seraphim had mysteriously abandoned their watch over time, the Fortress had been called by another name.

In the days of the founders of the Time Guardian order, the Fortress had been known as Avalon. The legendary founder of the order, Uther, was said to have a tomb somewhere in the lower levels of the structure. Uther's son, Arthur, the current leader of the Guardians, would not answer any questions regarding his father's place of burial. The subject was somehow taboo, and no Time Guardian in the modern era bothered to ask anymore.

Trunks had been recruited recently in the scheme of things. His original timeline had been one of the timelines which contained the mystical artifacts known as Dragonballs. The Earth of his timeline was also sometimes called "The Dragon World". There were at least five natural versions of the "Dragon Timeline" in existence, and several more had been created artificially by primitive time travel.

Trunks had always been surprised had how much more technologically advanced the Earth of his timeline, or any timeline with Dragonballs had been to versions of Earth that lacked Dragonballs. He remembered his grandfather had invented capsule storage, and hover vehicles along with many other advances made his own Earth centuries more advanced than the Earth of most other timelines.

Trunks was always surprised at how different other Earths were. His Earth had one massive continent, along with two smaller landmasses in the north and south of the planet. The usual appearance of most other Earths he had encountered was that of a world consisting of seven continents, two in the western hemisphere, one at the very south of the planet, and four continents in the eastern hemisphere.

Trunks remembered his life before the Guardians recruited him. He was born to his brilliant mother, a human, as well as his father, a member of the Saiyan race. His father, Vegeta, along with his crew consisting of Raditz, Nappa and Turles, had come to the Earth in search of the fabled Dragonballs, which his father believed were capable of defeating the space tyrant known as Chiller. Vegeta was careful not to harm anyone on the planet in his search as long as they lacked hostile intentions. Sometime in his search he had met his mother, Bulma. It did not take long for the two to fall in love.

Trunks himself had been born three years later. Vegeta and his crew had taken the role of protecting the Earth from any threats that appeared, such as the Legendary Super Saiyan, Kakorot, a being of monstrous evil and power.

As soon as Trunks was old enough, he and his father trained. Threw a combination of intense training and actual combat experience in outer space when they took the fight to Chiller himself, Trunks had become very powerful.

In fact, when he joined the Time Guardians, he had learned he was the strongest version of himself in all the timelines.

Trunks followed Pelleas and Gareth as the trio made their way threw the alabaster halls of the Time Fortress Avalon. Along the way to the council chambers, the trio passed by many other Guardians. It continually amazed Trunks how large the organization of the Time Guardians actually was.

The total number of Time Guardians was said to be at least one hundred and fifty. One hundred and fifty guardians patrolling at least a thousand different timelines. It was almost too much.

Finally the trio past the double golden doors leading into the council chamber. The council chamber in ages past had contained a circular table of wood, but in more recent years the council took the form of twelve white seats elevated above opposite the entrance to the room. Pelleas walked ahead of the two younger guardians and kneeled before the sitting lone guardian on council duty in the room, an older man sitting in one of the elevated seats with jet black hair and a black mustache.

"Sir Lamorak, it is an honor to see you again." Pelleas said respectively to his superior.

On cue both Gareth and Trunks also bowed politely.

"I see your handling both of your charges well Sir Pelleas. Your mission was completed on record time and with no witnesses from the inhabitants of Earth-0001. I think you three deserve something more challenging." Lamorak said as he rose from his seat with a smile on his face.

"Finally." Gareth blurted out, earning him an elbow jab from Trunks.

"What kind of mission do you have in mind sir?" Pelleas asked.

"On Earth 0301 an out of control genetic experiment has been terrorizing the population. The local warriors of the world failed to stop him. It is believed that if the fiend continues his rampage, all of timeline 0301 will be destroyed. As you are no doubt aware, the destruction of a single timeline can destabilize all the timelines, so it is important that this is taken care of. I have faith in you and your team's abilities Pelleas, do the Time Guardian's proud." Lamorak said.

"We will not fail sir." Pelleas said, briefly saluting before the three exited the chamber and began the long trek back to the dimensional transporter.

After fading from the Time Fortress, the three found themselves in a barren desert. Nearby several fallen warriors lay. Trunks did not have to sense their energy to know they were dead.

One figure stood nearby. Immediately Trunks knew it was their target.

The figure was average in height. He had short deep violet hair and wore a green vest, armor most likely. The figure had green cloth pants covering his legs and black boots. His arms were fully exposed, and like the figure's face, was pale white in skin color. The figure had purple markings on either side of his face, almost like some kind of war paint.

"Be careful, this is Cell. The Guardians have fought versions of Cell on many of the worlds that have dragonballs. Most versions of the creature have the ability to absorb other living things. If he were to absorb a guardian we would be in deep trouble." Pelleas said.

"Is he really that dangerous? I mean, he looks like some kind of wrestler." Gareth said.

"You should know not to judge someone by their appearance Gareth." Trunks said to the younger Guardian.

It was then that Cell noticed them. Turning his head, the green clad man gazed on the three newcomers with piercing violet eyes.

Cell was confident that whoever had arrived was not any more capable of posing a threat to him than the fools he just recently defeated.

Cell was triumphant. He had outsmarted the Z-Fighters, absorbing the cocky Android 17 in order to make his first step toward completion. After that, Cell had fought Android 16 and absorbed him. With her two brothers gone, Android 18 would have made easy pickings, but that fool Krillin and several of his weakling human friends had made absorbing her difficult. In the end though, Cell had prevailed. He now stood in a much more human body than even his previous form.

Originally Cell had only been programmed to absorb Androids 17 and 18. He believed after he had done that, he would have been the perfect being. However when he absorbed Android 16 he realized that he had the wonderful opportunity of surpassing what his creator considered "perfection".

Now he stood in a body that was far superior to anything he had imagined. He was beyond perfection.

Cell began to laugh at the three newcomers clad in golden armor.

"I don't know who the three of you are, but if your here to challenge me, I would quit before you even start." Cell said with a confident tone.

Pelleas stepped forward.

"If we were to leave you alone you would end up destroying this entire universe. Tell me Cell, why should we do such a thing?" Pelleas said with his hand at his back on the hilt of his weapon.

"It is not like you can stop me anyway. But by all means, come and try, I do enjoy quality entertainment." Cell said.

"May I have this one sir?" Trunks asked.

"Be my guest." Pelleas said.

"_If Cell thinks he was the strongest here he was in for a rude awakening"_ Pelleas thought.

Trunks lifted a small handaxe from out of the armor on his back and held it tightly, preparing to engage Cell in combat.

"Nice toy." Cell said, insulting Trunks with arrogance in his voice.

Trunks leapt forward with his axe in hand. Cell extended his right hand and fired a blast of energy at the incoming Time Guardian. Trunks seemed unaffected by the attack, and proceeded to slice a very surprised Cell in two.

Cell's seemingly lifeless body fell to the ground. Trunks turned around to look at his two companions.

"That was awesome Trunks. I can't believe that freak thought he could defeat you, can't he sense power levels?" Gareth asked.

"I hate to cut this celebration short, but Cell is still very much alive." Pelleas said.

Trunks turned around to see Cell's body regenerate and reform, his injuries gone as though they never existed.

"To answer your question kid, yes I can sense power levels. I knew you were stronger than me the moment you appeared on this planet. There is more to a battle than power." Cell said with a not-so friendly smile.

Suddenly Pelleas had a very bad feeling.

Trunks swung his axe once again at Cell. This time Cell jumped into the air and avoided the attack.

"Rapid Fire!" Cell yelled, sending a volley of yellow blasts of energy in Trunks' direction. Trunks placed his arms in an x in front of his face as the deadly rain bombarded him.

While Trunks endured Cell's energy attack, Trunks proved unprepared for Cell's next move. The genetic experiment flew down and landed a fierce uppercut to Trunks' jaw. The impact was so strong that Trunks' weapon flew from his hands and into the air.

With a careful aim, Cell fired a large yellow energy blast at the golden axe, destroying it utterly. Cell then walked over to Trunks and gave the lavender-haired half-saiyan guardian a roundhouse kick to the youth's left ribcage.

Trunks soared backwards, his jaw and left chest area in intense pain. Trunks was so dazed he failed to notice Cell appear above him.

With one swift motion Cell slammed both his pale white fists into Trunks' chest, sending Trunks painfully into the dusty brown sand below.

Cell landed near the injured Time Guardian as a green tail emerged from Cell's back.

"I will not lie, you have a great amount of power, however you lack experience, which is something I have in abundance. That weakness of yours cost you this battle. I would not worry about your failure too much though, Trunks was it? Soon you will become a part of me." Cell said.

Trunks couldn't do a thing. His head hurt, his body ached, and for some reason he could not move. Intense fear overtook him. He did not want it to end his way.

Slowly the tail of Cell approached, the end of which expanded until it was such a size it could easily take in someone human sized.

"Trunks no!" Gareth said, flying forward in an effort to save his friend and peer.

"Gareth don't!" Pelleas yelled at the younger Time Guardian.

"I don't see you doing anything." Gareth yelled, ignoring his superior's order.

"_This is getting out of hand. I thought they could handle something as weak as Cell, but apparently I was wrong." _Pelleas said as he quickly removed two regal white swords with golden hilts from the two scabbards on his back.

As Cell's tail came down in an effect to absorb Trunks, Gareth suddenly came between Cell and Trunks.

"Gareth don't!" Trunks yelled desparately as Gareth was engulfed in Cell's tail.

As Pelleas approached Cell fired a blast of energy which caught Pelleas by surprise, knocking the guardian backwards and buying Cell just enough time to absorb Gareth.

"How touching, your friend took your place Trunks. Not like it matters to me, either of you would have suited my purposes." Cell said cruelly.

What happened next Trunks would never forget.

His long time friend and peer Gareth screamed as he was sucked into Cell's tail. His voice became more and more muffled as his body went further and further inside Cell.

With a pained scream in was over, Gareth was somewhere inside Cell, and even Pelleas knew it was too late to save their teammate and friend.

Pelleas was furious. He dived down with both his swords drawn at a very pleased looking Cell.

"Cell you just killed my student and my friend. I will never forgive you for that. You will die here today!" Pelleas yelled as Cell nimbly dodged a sword slash.

"You are mistaken on several counts. Gareth is not dead, and you won't kill me." Cell said as a simmering green energy barrier came into existence around him.

"Whats happening?" Trunks asked.

"He just absorbed a time guardian, he is changing. This mission is now above our abilities to complete." Peleas said sadly.

Trunks watched as Cell's chest and boots changed from black to gold in coloration.

As soon as Cell's metamorphosis began, it was over. The shimmering green field disappeared and Cell stood with a grin on his face.

"Now I understand. You come from an order of warriors from outside this universe, outside every universe. How absolutely fascinating. With these abilities I will travel from universe to universe, destroying all in my path to greatness. I owe it all to you Time Guardians for traveling here." Cell said.

"You aren't going anywhere." A tough voice said.

Lamorak flew forward, his fists glowing with orange energy.

Cell turned towards this new opponent, but before he could formulate a battle strategy the newcomer punched him straight threw the stomach with his right hand. Lamorak used his left hand to fire an energy blast which completely destroyed Cell. Lamorak continued firing his blast until he was sure not even a cell remained of the creature.

"Sir Lamorak, I am sorry sir." Peleas said sadly.

"We will talk back at the Time Fortress." Lamorak said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

It had been Trunks' first battle involving a permanent casualty. Gareth had been his friend. They had gone on rookie Time Guardian missions together for many years. Now Gareth was gone forever, swallowed up by a version of the monster Cell.

Trunks vividly remembered the debriefing following that failed mission.

Trunks stood side-by-side with Peleas. Lamorak was joined by three additional council members, including the leader and supreme commander of the Time Guardians, Arthur himself, who sat in the center seat of the chamber.

"Peleas you failed to act in time to prevent the death of a new recruit assigned to your squad. In addition, your failure would have endangered all the universes under our care. What do you have to say to this." Arthur said.

Arthur had short straight red hair and a beard. He wore a red cape in addition to the usual golden armor of a time guardian, signifying his rank.

"Sir all I can say is that I am deeply sorry I could not save Gareth." Peleas said with sorrow in his voice.

"Your regret is understandable, however this incident cannot pass without consequence. Sir Peleas you will be reduced in rank and placed in another squad. We hope that serving for years once again as a lower rank will teach you what being a commander truly means." Arthur said.

"I understand sir." Peleas said as he lowered his head in shame.

"As for you Trunks. You served bravely and did your best in battle. You will be assigned a new squad where you will continue as you have been. Perhaps one day when you have enough experience, you will command a squad of your own." Arthur said.

The months and years that followed were a blur, a series of endless conflict as Time Guardian Trunks fought in many timelines, battling all sorts of foes and phenomenon with his teammates.

Trunks had learned to use a sword in combat, finding the weapon much more versatile than his old axe. As the centuries past, Trunks found himself a master swordsman. That was not all. Trunks mastered higher levels of his Super Saiyan Transformation, levels that his father back in his own universe could not dream of.

When fighting a dangerous group of powerful wizards, Trunks had first used his Super Saiyan Three transformation. In that form he was easily able to wipe the floor with the wizards, who promptly surrendered and were placed in the Abyss, a prison located in a satellite structure to the Time Fortress.

Shortly after that, Trunks was given his first command. Trunks remembered as he stood in front of the council.

Trunks stood taller now. He had a more toned physique and his straight lavender hair now went down to his shoulders.

Standing in the white chamber that for years now had been where he had received missions and ended them, Trunks was confused why his fellow squad members were not present.

Staring up at Arthur and the other council members, Trunks spoke.

"Where are my teammates?" Trunks asked

"We have decided unanimously that your rank be raised to captain. After years of faithful service we felt it was time you advanced to bigger and better things within our order." Arthur said with a smile.

"Who do you have in mind then for my squad members? I'm assuming I'm to be given a command am I not?" Trunks asked.

"Actually no. We have studied your profile thoroughly and your performance in past battles. I believe you would do best as a one man strike force. Your job will be to discover and destroy the greatest threats to the timelines. I'm confident Trunks that with your high power level, this job will prove to be natural for you." Arthur said.

"Thankyou, I am honored." Trunks said.

That was how he remembered it. When his life entered its next phase, its final phase.

For centuries after his promotion Trunks found he enjoyed the important solo work he was given. He defeated demon lords, fought beings spawned from suns. He had become perhaps one of the strongest Time Guardians, and for years he did not think anything could possibly defeat him in battle.

That was until Krysis..

Krysis and his armies had discovered the existence of the Time Guardians, and decided that the guardians represented a threat to Krysis and his empire. A war erupted that eventually destroyed the Time Fortress itself. Krysis had engaged Arthur in battle, and even the legendary sword Excalibur did not seem a match for the monstrious power of the crimson tyrant.

Kneeling over Arthur in his dying breath, Trunks remembered the final words of the last leader of the guardians.

Speaking weakly, Arthur said his last words.

"Whatever happens Trunks, you must not let Krysis win. Take my sword, continue our fight for justice, that is my last request." Arthur said.

"I swear on my honor as a Guardian, that I will bring Krysis down." Trunks said.

Following that day, Trunks wielded Excalibur. Tracking down Krysis back to his home timeline, Trunks battled the crimson tyrant to a standstill. He had managed to cut off Krysis right arm, greatly weakening the Pariahan.

Trunks really thought it was over then, that he had avenged the Time Guardians and defeated Krysis once and for all. He was wrong.

Krysis used his powers to enter the timestream. The act of entering the timestream in such a manner aged the sun. Trunks burned as the enter world around him went up in flames. Before death could claim him, Trunks split his essence, giving it to two different versions of himself in two other timelines.

It was his plan that once the two Trunks encounter each other, they would recreate his form and power so that he could finally defeat Krysis.

Now as Trunks lay on the ground surrounded by friends and family, he had gained allies in his fight with Krysis. But would they be able to defeat the Crimson Tyrant? Would he be able to accomplish what every other Time Guardian had failed to do?

Trunks could only hope.


	14. An Ominous Wind

The two fighters stared at each other across the vast distance separating them in his vast blue sky that Aquila had chosen as a battleground. The two warriors hovered in midair. Bardock looked like he meant business with his green Saiyan armor and red bandanna.

Aquila did not look remarkable. His long brown straight hair, piercing gold eyes and brown goatee gave the man, who looked like he was at least in his mid twenties, a very alert, dangerous look.

"Bardock, you should know that I will show you no mercy, so do not hold anything back against me." Aquila said

"I don't intend on holding back." Bardock said, then yelled as he powered up to a Super Saiyan.

Bardock remembered his first transformation into the Super Saiyan form. It was right after he had died from Frieza's planet-shattering attack. He had appeared, with his body, on what he later discovered was Snake Way. The entire idea that he had failed and was now dead caused him to scream in anguish. It was during that moment he had transformed.

As impressive as the Super Saiyan form was, to beings like Aquila, the power increase from the transformation was miniscule at best. Bardock knew the form would not be good enough, however he wanted to see his opponent's reaction.

"The basic Super Saiyan form won't even pose a challenge for me Bardock. I told you not to hold back." Aquila said, slightly annoyed.

"Sorry, I just had to confirm something." Bardock said with a smirk.

Aquila rolled his eyes.

"And what would that be?" Aquila said, his voice sounding slightly annoyed.

A large white cloud past beneath the two fighters as Bardock decided he would go straight to his ultimate transformation, honoring Aquila's desire for him to hold nothing back.

"That I can sustain my ultimate Super Saiyan form for as long as I need." Bardock said, then yelled as blue bolts of bio electricity began to dance around his form. Bardock's yellow eyebrows disappeared as his golden hair grew down past his waist.

Along with his son Goku, his grandson Gohan, Trunks and the fusion Gotenks, there were now five Saiyans able to become the mighty Super Saiyan Three. Bardock had first gained this transformation after years of training in otherworld.

"Most impressive. Your power is indeed mighty in that state Bardock, but I think you will find that my power is mightier still." Aquila said

"Then lets put that to the test shall we?" Bardock asked.

Without another word Aquila rocketed towards Bardock and in seconds the two fighters began a furious exchange of blows.

Meanwhile at the green field outside the ruins of West city..

Both Trunks and Piccolo stood, somewhat recovered, alongside Gohan and Vegeta.

All could feel a very familiar power in the distance, slowly approaching the Earth.

"Vegeta is that who I think it is?" Gohan asked, wearing the tattered remains of his orange combat uniform.

"It has to be Kakorot. No other energy in the universe feels like that." Vegeta said, his old excitement at battle seeming to return.

"_After this is over perhaps I can finally settle things with Kakorot." _Vegeta thought with a smile on his face.

"If it is Goku he has gotten quite stronger than when he left with Shenron three years ago." Trunks said, his golden armor gleaming in the sun's light.

"If I'm correct he has probably attained Super Saiyan Five." Piccolo said with a smile on his green face. Like Gohan Piccolo's clothing had been torn to shreds in his last battle.

"Then this entire affair is about to get much more interesting" Vegeta said with his trademark smirk.

Gen stood alongside the dark black haired woman Corvus as well as the black armored general Terra, who was Krysis second-in-command from what Gen could tell. The former leader of Gentech, now a Neo Saiyan himself, had not radically changed in appearance since his transformation. His long white hair was now a bit longer, but remained straight. Gen's body remained thin, however he now was slightly muscular, his body now meant for fighting.

Gen's change had left a power vacuum in Gentech. From the sparse news he heard of his company he knew that the propaganda campaign against the Z-Fighters had been taken over by conspiracy theorists and had basically taken on a life of its own. The Vanguard of Independent Nations was forced into a stalemate with the Royal Military as Gentech had suddenly stopped sending the high-tech arms and vehicles the Vanguard depended on.

Gen had always planned on changing himself into a Neo Saiyan, the fact it happened sooner than he planned had not actually changed much. His overall plan against Krysis was still very much in effect.

With the thought of Krysis on his mind, it was ironic when the Crimson Tyrant himself appeared in a flash of red light.

Krysis cast his jet black eyes on Gen. In the brief moment the two made eye contact, Gen felt almost as though Krysis had gazed into his mind and briefly become aware of his thoughts. The feeling past quickly though, as Krysis turned his gaze away, turning towards General Terra and Corvus.

"It is fortunate you are all gathered like this. Saves me the trouble of speaking to each of you individually." Krysis said.

"Master what is your wish?" Terra asked, bowing his head in the presence of his master.

"The time has come to begin the next phase of my master plan. I need the three of you to guard three areas separately at different points on the Earth. These areas contain the machinery that will allow my vast armies to enter this time period. Now go, and do not fail in your task." Krysis said with a commanding tone to his youthful voice.

"As you command Lord Krysis" Terra and Corvus said at the the same time.

Krysis turned his gaze on Gen.

"At once sir." Gen said, then he, Terra and Corvus flew off in three different directions.

Krysis turned towards the area the Z-Fighters had gathered.

"I suppose I should introduce myself. While I am at it, I will set the record straight regarding the lies Trunks has probably told them." Krysis said as a red aura materialized around him right before the crimson tyrant flew off towards the area the Z-Fighters were gathered at.

Meanwhile, Bardock continued to battle Aquila. The two seemed evenly matched.

Aquila passed threw a grey cloud before attempting to hit Bardock in the face with a hard right punch. Bardock managed to duck underneath the attack, and counter by bringing his left leg up and slamming Aquila with his knee.

Bardock charged up a Riot Javelin in his right hand and tossed the grenade-like attack in Aquila's direction. Aquila placed both his hands in front of his chest to minimize the damage the attack would cause.

Before the attack landed Bardock suddenly found himself somewhere else..

He was on a dark world, blue sand all around. In the distance were clocks of various sizes. Some were the usual size, while others were the size of skyscrapers. All told the same time. According to the clocks, it was nearly 11 O'clock pm, the final hour before a new day.

Bardock felt a powerful presence. As before, a figure clothed in darkness riding what looked like a horse stood in the distance.

"Of coarse." Bardock said, sighing as he realized he was seeing yet another vision.

"Once again you have come." The figure said.

"It is not like it is my choice to have these visions, they just happen." Bardock said with a hint of annoyance.

"What you do and do not desire is of no concern. The eleventh hour approaches, the final hour of mortals." The figure said.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Bardock asked.

"The time of mortals is drawing to a close. The various time lines have already faded away, only your time line remains. Soon a mortal will willingly condemn all mortals to oblivion to satisfy his foolish ambition. When that occurs it will finally prove that for mortals..death is the only absolute." The figure said cryptically.

"Just who exactly are you to make such judgments regarding us mortals anyway? And why are you telling me all this? Why the nihilistic statements?"" Bardock asked with a slightly angry tone.

"I am warning you because your the only mortal capable of hearing me at the current time. My statements are not proclamations of nihilism, they are warnings to what will happen. Unless you stop the being known as Krysis, I will put an end to mortality. Death is the only absolute if you should fail." The dark figure said.

"Why can't you stop Krysis yourself if your power over mortals is so great?" Bardock asked.

There was no answer, rather Bardock suddenly once again found himself in the sky fighting against Aquila. He had returned just as his Riot Javelin struck his opponent, and the Neo Saiyan became engulfed in a small explosion.

Bardock had watched his grandson as well as Vegeta come up with new attacks. It was only natural for a true warrior to create new, better ways of fighting his adversaries. Bardock was no exception.

Bardock gathered energy in both his hands.

"Desperado!" Bardock yelled as he fired smaller, less powerful versions of his Riot Javelin rapidly at Aquila.

The explosion around Aquila grew until a huge cloud of black smoke obscured the otherwise clear blue sky.

Suddenly a whirlwind formed which cleared away the smoke. Aquila flew, looking only slightly effected by Bardock's attacks.

"You fight well father of Goku. I should tell you, that among the first four members of the Neo Force, I have the greatest mastery of the element I control. You have earned the right to see but a fraction of my abilities." Aquila said as he spread his arms out to either side.

Bardock kept his guard up, not knowing what kinds of tricks his opponent was planning.

"Air Dance, first stance!" Aquila said as a tangible aura of light blue materialized around him.

Aquila began to spin until he had literally become a tornado, which proceeded to fly in Bardock's direction. Bardock flew as fast as he could away from Aquila as the living twister sped towards him.

When Bardock had put what he felt was a good distance between himself and his opponent, Bardock executed yet another Desperado attack, rapidly firing glowing yellow orbs of energy in Aquila's direction.

The blasts seemed to be absorbed into Aquila's tornado. Seeing as his efforts did not seem to have any effect, Bardock decided to try a stronger attack, and fired a beam of white energy at the tornado, an act that seemed to also have no effect.

Seeing no other option Bardock flew as fast as he could at the incoming tornado.

But Aquila had set a trap for Bardock. The tornado disapeared before Bardock reached Aquila's position. Aquila suddenly grabbed Bardock's hand before it could land a punch, smiled a toothy grin, and spun around and then tossed Bardock high into the blue sky. Aquila then held out his hand and began charging a powerful energy burst.

Bardock recovered in mid-flight however, and saw what Aquila had in store for him, and charged up yet another Riot Javelin and fired it at Aquila.

Aquila fired his own energy blast, a tornado-like blue energy wave, which cut right threw Bardock's Riot Javelin and nearly hit Bardock. However Bardock quickly dodged the attack by flying even further upwards into the blue skies above. .

Bardock then flew downwards and rushed towards Aquila, attempting to punch him. The Neo Saiyan of the air was one step ahead of Bardock however, and fired two blue tornado beams at Bardock, an attack which struck true and sent Bardock far away into the boundless sky. As Bardock was sent backwards from the force of Aquila's attacks, he saw Aquila flying directly over him.

In seconds Aquila swung his right arm down at Bardock, attempting to land a vicious haymaker punch to the Saiyan's gut. Bardock blocked Aquila's attack with his right arm, pain shot down Bardock's arm as the punch struck.

Bardock quickly recovered and began his counter attack by striking at Aquila with both fists, pounding on Aquila's blue chest armor, managing only to knock him backwards a few feet. Bardock continued to spin around Aquila, continuing his furious assault on the avian Neo Saiyan.

Soon tiring of Bardock's weak attacks Aquila yelled and a field of blue energy surrounded him, repelling Bardock and yet again sending him flying backwards into the air blue sky.

Bardock quickly recovered in mid-air, and flew back towards Aquila.

" I'm much too powerful to be hurt by your attacks Bardock .You are a weakling compared to me if Super Saiyan Three is the best you can do." Aquila said with a confident, boastful tone in his voice.

"You can't fault me for trying." Bardock said, then fired off a super-charged crimson colored version of his Riot Javelin at Aquila.

The blast hit the avian Neo Saiyan, but bounced off his chest armor, doing no damage whatsoever.

"That tickles. I thought the father of Goku would be capable of more. So far from what I've seen Bardock, I have little to fear from you." Aquila said with a disappointed tone.

Bardock then continued with his assault on Aquila with yet more melee attacks, punching and kicking at the avian Neo Saiyan, hoping somehow that he would find a weakness of some sort.

If only there was a moon, Bardock could attempt ascending to Super Saiyan Four. With the increase in power, he could very likely turn the tide in this battle. But there was no moon here, only white or grey clouds and boundless blue azure skies. Vegeta had a technique which created an artificial moon, a technique the Neo Force had apparently learned how to replicate. Unfortunately for Bardock, he had no way to learn such a move so quickly, let alone in the heat of battle.

Suddenly Aquila rocketed towards Bardock. Bardock used the opportunity to catch Aquila off-guard, slamming the incoming Aquila with a shoulder charge. As Bardock hoped, Aquila's momentum had made Bardock's attack all that much more potent. Stunned and in pain from the unexpected attack, Aquila went flying, and soared threw a large white cloud. Aquila also went threw about one hundred other clouds before his flight stopped a great distance away.

"Maybe you are stronger than me, but strength is not everything in a battle." Bardock said.

As Bardock battled Aquila in the sky realm, Krysis approached the gathered Z-Fighters standing on the green grassy plains outside the West City region.

Trunks was the first to notice Krysis as he approached, him being the only fighter who recognized his energy signature.

"Guys, we have company, and it is Krysis." Trunks said staring into the distance as what looked like a small red star approached.

"So that was that huge power I've been feeling for months." Piccolo said before using his powers to restore his clothing, including his turban and cape.

"I don't know why you both feel concerned about this guy, if the energy I'm sensing from him now is his true power that makes him a weakling." Vegeta said with an arrogant smile.

"Vegeta the more things change with you, the more they stay the same don't thing?" Gohan said, crossing his arms.

"Well of coarse. I can't change too much or people will forget who I am." Vegeta said with his trademark smirk.

Vegeta's smile disappeared when Krysis landed a short distance from the group.

Krysis walked over to his enemies, the Z-Fighters. Thanks to his red mask, none of his adversaries could see the expression on the crimson tyrant's face.

"So your the great and powerful Vegeta. I've heard so many things about you." Krysis said, his black eyes staring at the Saiyan Prince with a great intensity.

"And your the little brat that is responsible for everything. Didn't your mother every tell you that trying to take over the world isn't very nice?" Vegeta said.

"Great Vegeta, get him angry while your at it." Gohan said, covering his face with his palm.

Krysis walked closer to Vegeta, and looked upwards at the Saiyan Prince, who was at least a head taller than him.

"Tell me Vegeta, how old do you think I am?" Krysis said, a subtle red flamelike aura materializing around him.

"I don't know? Sweet sixteen? Twelve? Yeah probably twelve." Vegeta said, not flinching as Krysis cast his dark gaze upon him.

"I will ignore your insolence for now Vegeta. But to answer my own question..I'm over two thousand of your years in age. I'm not surprised you don't know what I am, considering the last time Saiyans dealt with my people was over fifteen hundred years ago." Krysis said.

"Krysis is a Parahian, they are a powerful race that originated on the original Saiyan homeworld. Once over a thousand years ago the Parahians ruled over the Saiyans. Using the Saiyan race as slave labor and shock troops, the Parahian's empire once stretched across several galaxies." Trunks said, memories coming to him suddenly.

"Very good Trunks. I see you remember your homework." Krysis said with a chuckle.

"If there was such a powerful empire, where did it go?" Piccolo asked with curiosity in his voice.

"The Legendary Super Saiyan destroyed it. If this Parahian empire existed around one thousand years ago, then that time lines up with the legend." Vegeta said.

"Exactly. After your out of control ancestor destroyed the home world because he could not control his power, my people's empire crumbled. You Saiyans survived of coarse, fleeing in all directions into the depths of space. My people became a shadow of their former selves. They forsoke violence, and built a new society on a new world based entirely on enlightenment and peace." Krysis said with disgust.

"And why is that such a bad thing? A race of conquerers repenting of their evil ways and re-dedicating themselves to peace does not sound like a bad thing to me." Piccolo said with a smile.

"We were warriors, conquerors. True Pariahans know that peace exists only to prepare for war. My people became naive and foolish. I told them such, and they banished me." Krysis said in anger.

"I feel so sorry for you. No scratch that, actually I don't." Vegeta said.

"Oh you will feel sorry soon enough Vegeta. Anyways, Trunks what sort of lies have you told them about me? Did you tell them that I decided to conquer the Time Guardians or that my empire was threat? Really do tell." Krysis asked

"Your scientists were conducting time based experiments, combined with the militaristic nature of your empire, yes the Time Guardians thought you were a potential threat." Trunks said without any expression on his face.

"I was happy with my empire. I never had any intention of conquering other worlds by force. Yet you refused to believe me when your emissaries questioned me. Instead armies of your precious Time Guardians descended upon my world. You were the aggressor, not I. Can you blame me for invading the Time Fortress?" Krysis said

"You lie. You attacked the Time Fortress in order to use it as a base to conquer other timelines. You murdered my friends and teachers because they had the audacity to get in your way. Don't you dare claim the guardians were in the wrong Krysis, because me both know that that is bullshit, pure and simple." Trunks said with a tone of righteous anger.

"Alright I'll admit I was not entirely truthful. But consider this." Krysis said, locking his black eyed gaze at Perfect Trunks.

"Consider that if your precious guardians had not arrived and had minded their own business, you and your friends would all be fine, and that destructive conflict would never have happened." Krysis said with a flat tone.

"You were planning something, something big regarding time, it was good the Guardians came when they did because if they had not, who knows what harm you would have done to the timelines." Trunks said.

"I have done harm to the timelines. Your precious Guardians failed to destroy the research and technology we developed. And now I am ever closer to realizing my dream." Krysis said with a triumphant tone.

"What are you talking about?" Trunks asked.

"I think I can answer that. Trunks remember how we discovered that time's very nature had changed. No longer were there a multitude of various alternate timelines, instead there was an orderly progression from past to future, cause and effect." Vegeta said

"Yes. When my scientists first started studying the time space continuum, years before the Guardians appeared, I discovered that time was much like fate. No matter what one does, one could not change time. If people precious to you were to die, you could never alter those events, creating a new brighter future where those you love and cherish still lived. My desire was to recreate time itself, not because I wanted to conquer other realities, but so that I could bring back my entire family, family that was killed by the Legendary Super Saiyan." Krysis said.

"But no amount of technology could possibly by itself alter the entire nature of time like that." Gohan said

"Not alone no, but when Tlama appeared his very presence in this universe destabilized the time space continuum. I was able to use the machines after I instructed Gen Kato and his company the means to build them, to finally reorder time space. All I have yet to do is bring my armies from the future back here. Not only will I erase the hell the Earth of the Future has become, but I will change the past, so that my family never perished." Krysis said.

"You cannot know what sort of forces you would unleash if you were to successfully change time. If the time-space continuum is still unstable it could destroy the physical universe entirely." Gohan said with concern.

"That is a chance I am willing to take. Don't any of you have someone, something you would be willing to tear apart the very universe if you had to, in order to get them back?" Krysis said.

"I understand what you are saying, but even with people I care about dead, I could always see them again in the afterlife. It is selfish to risk destroying the entire universe just because YOU have people you would like to have back." Gohan said with a strong tone.

"I guess that means we can't be friends." Krysis said with an amused tone.

Suddenly the entire area began to shake, knocking everyone, including Krysis, off their feet.

An enormious green serpentine dragon had landed, and upon the Dragon's head was a Saiyan. The man wore green pants and an orange martial arts shirt with no sleeves. On the shirt's back was the image of a green dragon much like the one the man was standing on. The Saiyan's hair style was very familiar and looked almost exactly like Bardock's.

The man spoke in a deep yet gentle voice.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late."

"Kakorot you finally decided to show your face again you old dog." Vegeta said with a smile as he forced himself onto his feet.

"Father is that you?" Gohan said, looking at the man on the Dragon.

"Regardless of the circumstances it's good to see you again Goku." Piccolo said with a warm smile.

"So that is Goku." Krysis said, narrowing his eyes at the newcomer.

"The one and only." Goku said with a smile, his eyes gazing down upon Krysis.


	15. Transension

Bardock blocked a quick series of punches from his opponent, the fast moving aerial member of the Neo Force known as Aquila.

With each blow that was sent Bardock's way he caught a glimpse at his opponent's true level of power. Bardock knew Aquila was only toying with him. There was no way the level of Super Saiyan Three would be enough. The problem was his opponent did not even need to power up in order to defeat him, and Bardock's only chance was to somehow use the artificial blutz waves as Gohan had done in order to attempt at reaching Super Saiyan Four.

So far that was not happening. Aquila was slowly wearing Bardock down with his mastery of the air and quick fighting style. However even Bardock did not realize how truly depleted his energy was.

Just after avoiding a flying kick from Aquila Bardock felt his hair regress back to it's normal length, as well as his power level free fall.

Bardock struggled to catch his breathe. He had never felt this tired from a battle before. Sweat poured down his forehead, landing on his green armor. Seeing Aquila hovering a short distance away with his arms crossed, Bardock felt fear.

He had been granted a new life. He could not bare the thought of being separated from the family and friends he only so recently came to know and cherish.

"So you finally reverted back to your normal Saiyan form. The thing about Super Saiyan level Three is that while the power the transformation grants is great, the strain on your body severely limits its usefulness in battle. That is why your son stopped using the form after he acquired Super Saiyan Four, a level which grants both great power and great stamina. I knew that was the extent of your abilities before the battle even started." Aquila said, his hawk-like gaze making Bardock feel slightly uneasy.

"If you knew, what is stopping you from finishing me off?" Bardock said, feeling incredibly weak.

As the two warriors hovered above the cloud-filled vast blue sky, Bardock felt the faint signature of a power that was familiar to him. He recognized the energy, but he could not tell whose power he was feeling.

"This may come as a surprise to you but it is not in my nature to kill opponents weaker than myself unless I have a very good reason to do so. All this time I've felt a great power approaching Earth. I believe your son, Goku has returned. It is he I truly wish to fight." Aquila said as his spiky brown hair swayed in the sudden wind.

"Then let us return to Earth so that you may switch opponents." Bardock said.

"You brought us here with your Instant Tranmission, if we are to return it is up to you Bardock." Aquila said.

Bardock really was more tired than he thought, if he was forgetting the recent past. Allowing Aquila to place his right hand on his shoulder, Bardock used his Instant Transmission, and both he and Aquila vanished from the sky realm, reappearing on the vast grassy plains a short distance from the Z-Fighters and Krysis.

Bardock nearly fell over on arrival, such was the extent of his fatigue. He had just enough strength left to stand. Sure enough, his son had returned to Earth the same way he had left, on the back of the Eternal Dragon known as Shenron.

Bardock looked with pride upon his son. The power and skill his son possessed far surpassed his own. Kakorot, no, Goku had lived a far more moral life than he had, proving that the Saiyan race need not be a slave to evil.

Goku walked over to his father just as Shenron flew back upwards into the sky, for the moment ignoring Krysis completely.

"Hello my son." Bardock said weakly with a faint smile on his lips.

Goku smiled warmly at his father, who resembled an older version of himself.

When Bardock nearly fell, Goku was quick to hold out his right hand, which Bardock used to pull himself back onto his feet.

"I'm sorry, I just was not prepared for how exhausting Super Saiyan Three can be." Bardock said weakly.

"I know the feeling. You know what's funny?" Goku asked

"What?" Bardock asked in response to his son's question.

"My entire life whenever I thought what my father must have been like, what imagined always looked something like you." Goku said with a warm smile.

Bardock laughed.

"I'm glad that at least one of my sons grew up well without me." Bardock said, allowing his tired body to sit down on the green grass in a cross-legged fashion.

"I'm glad I finally have the chance to meet my Dad." Goku said.

Aquila walked over to Goku.

"You finally have arrived Goku. I have waited years for the chance at testing my strength against your own." Aquila said as his blue armor gleamed from the light of the sun.

Goku turned his gaze on Aquila and spoke.

"Normally I'd be thrilled to fight someone with your level of power, but I did not come back just to have fun. Which reminds me." Goku said, turning around to face Krysis, who was staring directly at him.

"That horrible energy Shenron and I sensed coming from Earth, it belonged to you there is no question about it." Goku said, a very serious expression on his face.

"Why so tense? Yes you and that giant lizard likely sensed my power, but how you were able to sense energy I have been suppressing is what I'm curious about." Krysis said, his pitch black eyes gazing with intense focus upon Goku.

"I have my ways. You should know Krysis that whatever your plans are, they stop right here with me." Goku said, striking a combat pose.

"What a pleasant surprise this is. I feared I was stuck with Vegeta as my most threatening opponent." Krysis said, causing Vegeta to wince at the mentioning of his name.

"Sir, what should I do?" Aquila asked

"Keep the others here busy while I fight Goku. If everything is going on schedule than the time portals will open very soon and my armies from the future will arrive. Make sure nothing interferes Aquila." Krysis said to his underling before turning his gaze once again on Goku.

"Any particular location you'd like to fight? Or is this area good?" Krysis asked.

"I know the perfect place." Goku said with a slight smile.

"Then use your Instant Transmission to go there, I will follow." Krysis said.

Just when the final words between the two were spoken did the two disappear.

"Krysis knows Instant Transmission?" Gohan said with surprise in his voice.

"A very advanced version of the technique yes." Aquila said as his brown hair swayed in the wind.

"You really think you can take all of us on at once?" Vegeta said with a smirk on his Super Saiyan Five face.

"I don't have to kill you, I only have to keep you busy." Aquila said in response.

"If you think you can hold back against four opponents with equal or greater strength than yourself than your a fool." Vegeta said.

"I agree, which is why I'll skip the first stance." Aquila said

Suddenly Aquila's body was surrounded by a sky blue aura. The wind suddenly picked up in the area, seemingly centered on Aquila, who began to yell, which in the minds of Piccolo, Gohan, Trunks and Vegeta, could mean only one thing. Aquila was powering up.

Aquila's voice grew louder as the Neo Saiyan tapped into greater and deeper levels of power. Yellow lightning danced around Aquila's form just as an enormous tornado formed around the blue armored Neo Saiyan.

All the Z-Fighters present fought against the swift wind that threatened to knock them all over, especially Bardock.

"If any of you hope to reach full power, now is the time." Vegeta yelled over the wail of the wind.

Piccolo nodded and then powered up as much as his recently recovered body could manage.

Gohan yelled, and in a flash he once again transformed into his strongest form, that of the red furred Mystic Super Saiyan Four.

Trunks yelled, transforming into a Super Saiyan Four as well.

Vegeta was already at his strongest level, and so did nothing except look for an opening in Aquila's defenses.

The second Aquila was done powering up the winds buffeting the region vanished and fell silent. All four combat capable Z Fighters immediately took the opportunity to attack, each flying at high speed towards Aquila's location.

Aquila had changed in appearance somewhat. His brown spiky hair was slightly longer. The man's goatee seemed more symmetrical. Aquila's piecing blue eyes had a subtle energy behind them.

Seeing the four incoming Z-Fighters, Aquila placed his arms at either side and spoke.

"Air Dance, Second Stance!"

In a flash an enormous grey tornado was upon them. The twister hummed with not only wind energy, but electricity as well.

Piccolo, Gohan, Trunks and Vegeta found themselves trapped in the tornado, the twister's high speed winds cutting their flesh and giving all of them a feeling of vertigo.

Vegeta yelled as he attempted to use his power to destroy the tornado. The tornado weakened slightly for a few seconds but did not dissappear as Vegeta hoped.

It seemed they were all trapped and at Aquila's mercy.

Then Piccolo had an idea.

Using his mind he spoke to Trunks, Gohan, and Vegeta all at once.

"_I think you had the right idea Vegeta. Maybe if we all focus our power on disrupting the tornado we will be able to break free." _Piccolo said via telepathy.

All four warriors nodded in silent agreement and then preceded to yell, each pushing their power to its limit.

Nothing happened at first. Nearly a minute after the four began powering up the tornado collapsed, all four fighters trapped within landed in a circle surrounding Aquila, who did not seem surprised they escaped.

"Nows our chance, I'll handle this guy, you three handle the time portals." Piccolo yelled.

"And if these portals are guarded what do we do then?" Gohan asked.

"We do what we do best Gohan, now go before he traps us again." Piccolo yelled.

With that the four split up. Piccolo remained behind to take on Aquila, while Vegeta, Trunks and Gohan headed towards the portals as well as whoever guarded them.

"I hope you realize that your friends have no chance of stopping the portals now. A tunnel has already been formed between the future and the present." Aquila said, crossing his arms.

"There is always a chance, always a way to change ones fate." A familiar voice said.

Piccolo turned to see Bardock standing beside him.

"Bardock you should have gotten away while you had the chance, now it is too late." Aquila said.

"Piccolo, go help the others, I have a feeling they are going to need it." Bardock said.

"You know if you fight him you most likely will die correct?" Piccolo said, admiring the Saiyan's bravery.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Piccolo." Bardock said with a weak smile.

"Don't get yourself killed." Piccolo said, giving Bardock a thumbs-up before flying off.

"I'm not sure if I should admire your courage or laugh at your stupidity." Aquila said with a smirk.

"I'd prefer the former." Bardock said.

Meanwhile in the forest encampment at Mount Paozu..

She had felt it. Somehow she knew. Her husband had returned yet again.

Chi Chi was not sure if she was incredibly happy, or incredibly angry at Goku. Over the coarse of their marriage Goku had a habit of leaving for years at a time. First there was the time Goku's long lost brother appeared and killed him, after which he was gone a couple years. Then he had gone into space, returning three years later. Then he was gone another seven years because of that monster Cell. After he returned Chi Chi had truly thought her husband was here to stay, however that was proven wrong when he flew off with Uub. He returned near a decade later, and by that point Chi-Chi no longer cared. She had felt the heart-wrenching uncertainty of her husband leaving so many times already that the latest one did not impact her as badly as the others did. So when Goku had flew off..yet again, it did not hurt as much.

But now she felt something else entirely. Chi-Chi was angry. Her Husband claimed to be a hero, he was always off on some adventure, and he never seemed to have time for her.

Chi Chi thought of these things as she hanged the clothing out to dry. Bui and Eighteen had cleared out a small area of forest, just enough to build a couple of small log cabins. Hercule helped Chi Chi cook the food Pan brought back from the river nearby, usually large fish.

The entire forest in the area consisted of dark, very old pine trees. The light during the day in the region was sparse, while the nights were nearly pitch black. Chi Chi remembered the nights when she could not bring herself to sleep. Sometimes the forest echoed with the sound of wolves howling at the stars. The group had not been here long and already Chi Chi wished she were back in her house.

That was when Chi Chi overheard Eighteen speaking with Bui.

"We would never be out here if it were not for your former company." Eighteen said with a hint of anger as the blond female android stared directly at the platinum blonde male youth.

"Like I've told you a thousand times, if you want to be angry at anyone, be angry at my brother." Bui said

Eighteen seemed to be on the verge of powering up an energy blast and firing it Bui's way.

Pan and her grandfather Mr. Satan looked on as the two seemed to be very close to coming to blows.

"Where is Krillin anyway?" Pan asked

"He is taking over your job today, remember he said he'd catch dinner?" Hercule reminded the orange bandanna wearing girl.

Suddenly Eighteen fired a blue energy blast in Bui's direction. Fortunately for Bui he managed to dodge.

"I never liked you from the beginning, and now I know why!" Eighteen yelled.

"Yes my Grandfather's brother was Dr. Gero. I'm not surprised the data is in your databanks. But ask yourself this Eighteen, how does us fighting help anyone?" Bui pleaded.

Just as Eighteen was about to fire another blast the sound of a shotgun pulled everyone's attention towards what looked like a black-haired young man in a trenchcoat.

"Seventeen? Is that you?" Eighteen asked.

"Yes its me Eighteen, the real me. Looks like I got here just in time to stop you from doing something stupid." Seventeen said, lowering his weapon.

"But I thought you were dead?" Eighteen asked.

"Yeah, you transformed into Super Seventeen and nearly killed a lot of our friends. You actually did manage to kill Krillin." Pan said, approaching the scene.

"Like I said, I'm the orginal, the real Seventeen. Those other two androids you met were copies created by Dr. Gero with help from Dr. Myuu. I've been keeping a low profile for years now, in that time I've learned a lot." Seventeen said.

"Why didn't you come visit, help, say anything Seventeen? I'm your sister for crying out loud." Eighteen said.

"I wanted to, but there is a lot you don't understand. Lets just say I have my reasons." Seventeen said.

"So Seventeen, welcome to the camp. In case you did not know we are here hiding for our lives against people who want to capture or kill us. Hope that sounds good to you." Pan said, not totally trusting Seventeen.

"I know all about Gentech, I also know that they are not the true threat." Seventeen said.

"What do you mean? Gentech is the entire reason we are out here hiding for our lives." Hercule said, speaking up.

"Gentech are nothing more than pawns in the grand scheme of things. When everyone is ready, I will tell you all everything I know." Seventeen said.

Meanwhile..somewhere else far from Earth..

The world Goku had chosen was a small world, perhaps two thirds the size of Earth. It was completely covered in golden fields of a grass-like plant. The sky was a vivid green and lacked any form of cloud cover.

Krysis stood far from Goku, but close enough for the two fighters to speak. A quick wind had picked up, causing Krysis red hair to sway in the breeze.

"Like the world I picked for our fight? No people will be harmed here, so we don't have to worry about innocents." Goku said as he stretched his legs and arms in preparation.

"Goku, Goku Goku. Your so very naive." Krysis said, shaking his head at Goku.

"Why do you say that?" Goku asked.

"You do realize that the very people you protect eventually will turn on you?" Krysis asked, his black eyes gazing into Goku's.

"I don't protect innocents because I want their gratitude or recognition, I do so because it is the right thing. I suppose someone like you would not understand." Goku said with a slight smile.

"When I first came to Earth, I thought as you did. I saw a primitive people all alone in a hostile universe. So I made myself their protector. I fought many threats over the coarse of a few decades, including creatures that made Maijin Buu look like a joke by comparison." Krysis said, unnerving Goku slightly with his face hidden behind the red mask.

"How am I naive for doing the same thing you once did?" Goku asked.

"Because eventually after hundreds of years of protecting the people of Earth, they turned on me. They tried to find ways of capturing me for study, trying to find the secret to my power. I was captured, tortured and nearly died. I then realized that if one wanted to truly protect, one did not live as a guardian or silent protector. Goku I suspect you know what must be done if one is to truly protect the innocent." Krysis said as the fields of golden grass swayed in the wind.

"What is it I'm supposed to know? Why don't you tell me." Goku said flatly.

"You take over. You become the people's king, their emperor, their god if need be. That is what I did. I used my power to crush all opposition on Earth, and rebuild society into the perfect utopia mankind has always strived for, but always was unable to attain." Krysis said

"Saving people and enslaving people are not the same thing. You are nothing more than a spoiled child, having a tantrum when you don't get your way. So some of the Earth's people decided to attack you. You blamed them all and desired they all suffer because the actions of afew." Goku said with conviction in his voice.

"I thought letting Gen make the lives of your family and friends a living hell would have shown you the people's true intentions. Humans like to think they are the center of the universe, that they decide what is true and what is not true. They believe only what they wish to believe, regardless if it really is true or not. Over half of Earth believes you and your friends are a threat to their freedom and safety, and thats all because of the misinformation Gentech spread. Look how quick the people you protect are willing to turn on you." Krysis said.

"I've heard enough. I don't care if some on Earth view me as an enemy. I know that not everyone on Earth is a saint either. But that does not give you the right to decide who lives and who dies. The fact there are scum on Earth and those that prefer to believe a lie does not mean there are not many more who embrace the truth and try to live a righteous life." Goku said, getting into a combat stance.

"I hate people like you, the freedom fighters, the self-righteous who love to save people." Krysis said with hate in his young voice.

"You hate me because you hate yourself. You hate truth because it is a mirror which shows you as you truly are, not what you wish to think. You hate righteousness because it is light, and you are darkness." Goku said

"Then hero, show me what your truly capable of." Krysis said

Goku yelled briefly, his black hair growing down to his back, and red fur growing on his arms along with the appearance of a red tail.

Goku's eyes became yellow and catlike, framed by red. An aura of red and gold surrounded the now Super Saiyan Four Goku, and already Krysis knew Goku was a force to be reckoned with. Despite his transformation Goku's orange shirt remained.

Seconds later Goku and Krysis rushed towards each other, each aiming a punch at the other. On impact an enormous explosion of red energy enveloped the area and created a gargantuan crater in the otherwise unblemished surface of the golden world.

Even as the smoke continued to clear Krysis and Goku traded blows. Goku and Krysis both blocked high speed punches from the other.

At one point Krysis seemed to be forcing Goku backwards, but Krysis apparently advantage vanished quickly when Goku turned the tables, forcing Krysis backwards with an assault of punches.

Eventually Goku swung a powerful uppercut into Krysis' stomach, an attack which sent the Crimson Tyrant backwards on onto the burnt ground of the impact crater. Before Krysis could get back on his feet Goku flew down and landed a hard punch from his right arm to Krysis shoulder. The sheer speed and power of Goku's impact sent Krysis on a trip underground to the other side of the planet.

Once Krysis arrived Goku was waiting for him, and sent Krysis back from where he came with another uppercut.

Using Instant Transmission, Goku arrived on the other side of the small world before Krysis. When Krysis did arrive he had an attack of his own prepared to hit Goku.

Surrounded by a vibrant aura of red, Krysis pointed at Goku with his right hand and a crimson orb of energy detached from the aura surrounding Krysis and streaked towards Goku.

Goku fired a small blue energy blast at the incoming orb, which seemed to grow the moment Goku's attack struck it.

Krysis snickered as he watched Goku make sense of his attack.

"_Even Goku didn't see this one coming." _Krysis thought, amused at Goku's confusion.

Goku flew away from the red orb, which was now about the size of a basketball. He and the red orb flew over long distances of the golden fields covering the planet. When it seemed like Goku would continue for hours to fly away, he turned around and yelled "Kamehameha Times Ten!", sending a charged red beam of energy directly into Krysis' orb, which as Goku thought, started to grow as it absorbed Goku's attack. The orb grew, first into the size of a car, then a house, followed by a city, and then it finally was the size of a mountain.

Krysis appeared a short distance away.

"Congratulations Goku, you fed my attack enough energy to destroy you at least ten times. If you had let my attack hit you without feeding it energy, you'd probably just have a bruise or something. Typical Saiyan, shoot first and ask questions later." Krysis said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Here, catch!" Goku said with a smile, then kicked the massive red orb towards Krysis.

Krysis' eyes momentarily widened in shock as his own attack came flying down at him. Then Krysis remembered his ability to use instant transmission.

Goku immediately swung his right arm around, striking Krysis hard in the face.

"Did you really think I'd forget that you also possess the instant transmission technique?" Goku said with a deep voice as Krysis felt his face with his right hand.

Suddenly a deafening explosion occured and in seconds the two fighters found themselves in an asteroid field deep in space.

"_That planet didn't last long." _Goku thought before using instant transmission to teleport to a nearby giant green planet.

This world was at least twice Earth's size. The gravity was about five times that of Earth's. While Goku felt the difference in gravity instantly, it had little, if any effect on him. Goku had trained at far greater levels of gravity than the gravity on this world.

Looking around, the planet reminded Goku of Namek. The rocky green islands of land were broken up by a blue sea. The planet had no moons that Goku could see in the planet's olive colored sky.

Sure enough, Krysis had followed Goku to their new battleground.

Krysis had a bruise on his left cheek, and a very angry expression in his eyes.

"How dare you touch my beautiful face with those primal fists of yours!" Krysis said, his red aura flaring out angrily as if in reaction to his emotions.

"Oh great a narcissist. Hate to break it to you Krysis, but getting hit in the face is fairly common in battle." Goku said with the deep voice of the Super Saiyan Four while he smiled at Krysis.

"I'll make you pay for disfiguring me!" Krysis said angrily as three red orbs emerged from his aura.

Goku looked at the orbs circling around Krysis like planets around a sun. They seemed similar to the attack Krysis had used earlier, but he could tell they were somehow different.

Goku held his hands back, then brought his hands forward yelling "Kamehameha!"

A blue beam emerged from Goku's hands and collided with Krysis, but did little if anything.

"That attack was too weak to harm me, but mine are more than strong enough to take care of you Goku." Krysis said

"Show me what you got." Goku taunted.

Krysis placed his hands over his chest in an X, much like a mummy.

"Crisis Option!" Krysis yelled, then placed his arms forward and began firing small red blasts of energy at Goku.

To Goku's surprise the orbs circling Krysis also fired red blasts of energy. Goku was able to dodge the hundreds of quick blasts sent his way, but the planet around them was not so fortunate and for a vast distance around the sky was lit up by hundreds of large fiery orange explosions.

Krysis began to laugh as he continued to fire, this time chasing Goku threw the skies of the embattled planet.

"Delayed Kamehameha!" Goku yelled, and suddenly Krysis fell from the sky and crashed onto the ground in a daze.

Goku saw his chance and dived downward onto the ground, then proceeded to lift the stunned Krysis onto his feet, where he then swung his right arm forward and upwards and into Krysis' jaw in the form of an uppercut, an act which sent Krysis flying into the sky.

Goku used instant transmission to teleport behind Krysis, and put the full power of both his arms into slamming Krysis in the back when he was near enough, sending the Crimson Tyrant on a return trip for the planet's surface.

Goku then teleported back to the ground below.

Back on Earth Aquila and Bardock looked into the sky.

"You can feel it can't you? My son is beating Krysis." Bardock said.

"No, Krysis is merely testing Goku's strength. He has yet to get serious." Aquila said.

"Speaking of getting serious, why won't you chase after the others or fight me for that matter." Bardock asked.

Aquila smiled at Bardock.

"I thought I already made it clear that you wouldn't stand a chance against me in a real fight. I don't wish to kill you Bardock. As for your friends, those portals aren't unguarded, though I'm sure the portals will be deactivated regardless. None of the remaining Neo Force members are as strong as I am. Only Gen perhaps approaches my power." Aquila said.

"So your the strongest Neo Force member, and you don't care if your master's plans are ruined?" Bardock asked.

"I'm counting on them being ruined." Aquila said.

Deep in space on the green planet the battle between Goku and Krysis continued.

Krysis landed on the ground with such force that the ground around him cracked open. Krysis did not blink as Goku instantly appeared in front of him.

"Not bad Goku. But I think its time I pay you back for ruining my beautiful face. I think I'll ruin yours." Krysis said, reaching to his back and pulling out two katana-like swords.

"I was wondering if you were going to use those." Goku said.

"You will wish I didn't. None have ever gone up against my swords and lived to tell of it." Krysis said, getting into a combat stance, swords in each hand.

"There is a first time for everything." Goku said as he also got into a fighting stance.

"I can predict your future Goku. You will attack first, and then in a flash you will lie dying on the ground after my swords pierce your flesh." Krysis said

Goku leapt at Krysis, his right hand glowing with faint golden energy. When Krysis suddenly appeared in front of Goku with his swords ready to strike, Goku brought his right fist forward quickly and yelled: "Dragon Fist!"

Krysis fought with everything he had against the sheer power of the golden dragon before he simply used instant transmission to evade the attack.

Goku had for a brief moment truly thought Krysis was dead. That was until Krysis appeared in front of him and before Goku knew what hit him, he was lying on the ground, the red gash across his chest staining the ground with blood.

Krysis placed his weapons back in the scabbards on his back and approached the wounded Goku.

"I did say I'd ruin your face, but in the end it doesn't matter, since your going to die anyway. As I said, every opponent I have ever faced with my swords has been dead within minutes of me entering a battle with them. Even you, the great Goku were no match for them." Krysis said, allowing his energy to go back to normal as his red aura fully disappeared.

Krysis was about to teleport back to Earth when to his surprise Goku got back onto his feet.

"I had a feeling I couldn't beat you at this level." Goku said, looking down at his wound.

"Impossible. How is it your even standing!" Krysis said with a surprised tone.

"What did you think I was doing with Shenron the past two years? I have become one with the dragonballs of Earth. Shenron trained me on how to live and fight with the vastly increased amount of power I possess when I use their power." Goku said as his deep wound closed and healed much to Krysis shock.

"You mean to tell me that you have learned to use the Dragonballs to increase your power like Omega Shenron did?" Krysis asked.

"Not exactly like he did, but I see you get the basic idea. Vegeta reached Super Saiyan Five by the actions of a higher power, in a way, so did I. Let me show you just how strong I really am." Goku said, then began to yell. Krysis was knocked off his feet by a shockwave from Goku.

Fear began to find its way into Krysis' heart.

Goku's yell grew louder and more intense. Everything around them seemed to distort, as though reality itself was effected by Goku's increasing power. All light on the planet suddenly was absorbed into Goku, who now looked like a glowing statue of purest marble, shining like a star.

There was a blinding white light, and then the planet returned to normal. Krysis got back onto his feet and turned his head towards Goku.

Goku now towered over Krysis. His size had grown with his power. He was now a small giant with blue bioelectricity dancing over his entire body. Goku's muscles were massive. A platinum silver fur covered his body, making Goku nearly look like he was made of metal. His eyes were aflame with white fire. Goku's already long hair had grown to his waist, a length not seen since he last used his Super Saiyan Three transformation years ago. His hair was now platinum silver as well, looking even more like real metal than the fur on his arms.

Remarkably, Goku's clothing had not been harmed in his transformation.

Goku turned his gaze towards Krysis.

"So, are you ready for the next round?" Goku said in deep booming voice that seemed to have great power behind it.


	16. Miasma of Rage

Vegeta hurried towards the portal. There was no mistaking that energy. It had changed from the last time Vegeta had felt it, gotten stronger.

Vegeta smiled as he relished the thought of making Gen Kato pay for what he did to his son.

As Vegeta flew over the desert region, passing by a herd of wild triceratops, a very strong energy suddenly bombarded his senses, nearly causing the Saiyan Prince to fall to the ground.

Vegeta stopped in midair to make sense of what he had just felt.

"There is no way that energy could have come from Kakorot. Yet.." Vegeta looked upwards at the clear blue sky.

"Yet there is no denying its you. Curse you Kakorot, always one step ahead of me. I thought I finally had reached a level that put us on equal ground. I should have known that once again you would find a way to surpass me." Vegeta said, clutching his white gloved fist.

Vegeta looked once more to the sky, then towards his destination.

"It seems there are still levels of Saiyan power I have yet to reach. Unseen facets of what it means to be a Super Saiyan. You keep putting off our rematch Kakorot. I know better that to believe it is because you don't want to fight me. Yes I think I know why. You want us on equal ground. Neither of us would feel satisfied if either had an unfair advantage." Vegeta said, then once again flew towards his destination.

"Our rematch was always going to be about our prowess as warriors." Vegeta said with his aura keeping the wind at bay.

"My fight with Gen on the other hand...well thats another story." Vegeta said before his trademark smirk appeared on his face.

The portal was supported by a vast mechanical structure the size of a large hill. It took the form of an elevated platform made of some kind of alloy metal. On the platform was a circular construct, in the middle of which was a distorted image of a blackened city with a bloated red sun in the sky.

Vegeta smiled as he flew up to the top of the structure, where he knew Gen was located.

Gen stood looking upwards as the portal became more and more stable, the image more and more still.

Gen had long ago realized that once any of these portals were completed, the entire Earth would be invaded by Krysis' mechanical army. If that happened there was no doubt Krysis would eliminate him shortly afterwards.

Bad thing for Krysis was that the Crimson Tyrant had underestimated Gen. Gen had tampered with the formula and process used to change him. He retained his free will, and that along with the vast powers he now possessed he felt confident he could eliminate Krysis when he least expected it.

Unfortunately for Gen, a certain Saiyan Prince had arrived, and he did not look happy.

Vegeta landed atop the mechanical platform. The silver-haired Super Saiyan Five looked upwards at the portal than at Gen himself.

"My my, quite the elaborate device your master has set up here." Vegeta said as he slowly walked towards Gen.

"If you want to stop this portal, now is your chance Vegeta. One of your stronger blasts should be more than enough to.." Gen said, but was interrupted when Vegeta rushed forward and slammed him hard in the stomach with his right fist.

Gen painfully spat out blood as he fell down, Vegeta's right arm the only thing preventing him from hitting the steel floor.

"The only sounds I want to hear from you are cries of pain for what you did to my son." Vegeta said.

Gen had never before felt or imagined the pain he now felt. Vegeta's one single punch had sent shockwaves threw out his entire body. Every part of his body from head to toe felt like he was burning from the inside.

"Does that hurt? Well just imagine how painful it is to be trapped inside your own body while you attack the people you love." Vegeta said with conviction in his voice.

Gen spat more red blood on the steel floor.

"Would..would your friend Goku approve of this desire for revenge?" Gen managed to say.

"I doubt he would. But you know something? Kakorot isn't here now. Your stuck with the Prince of all Saiyans. And when you mess with Vegeta's family, be prepared for the consciences." Vegeta said, holding his left hand close to Gen's head, a small light forming in his palm.

"Light.." Gen said, staring into the growing ball of energy in Vegeta's left palm.

"Is your mind leaving you just moments before your death Gen? I'm not surprised. The mind of a coward like yourself couldn't possibly understand the idea of meeting your end with dignity." Vegeta said.

Suddenly Gen's body changed into a white mass of light, which promptly slivered out of Vegeta's reach and reformed into a very smug, and unharmed looking Gen Kato.

"Neat trick, but it won't save you." Vegeta said as he flew towards Gen.

Gen held his right hand upwards in front of the sun and yelled "Prismatic Javelin!", a rainbow hued spear made of light energy forming in his right hand.

Faster than Vegeta could get to Gen, the white haired former GenTech CEO turned Neo Saiyan threw his deadly projectile at the Saiyan Prince, who narrowly managed to dodge the attack.

Vegeta attempted punching Gen in the stomach as he had earlier, but Gen became semi-transparent at the last second and Vegeta's punch passed threw nothing but air.

"Not so easy fighting someone who can manipulate light in all its aspects is it?" Gen said with a smirk of his own.

"So all your going to do is throw colorful objects at me? Reminds me of when my daughter was younger, only she had better aim." Vegeta said, charging two white spheres of energy in both hands.

"Juvenile insults aside Vegeta, aren't you forgetting something? This portal was the first to go online. It is about ninety-five percent done establishing a link with Krysis' time. When it is finished, oh, in about five minutes, you will only have yourself to blame for failing to stop his armies as they enslave the planet." Gen said.

"You underestimate me. I can finish you and shut down that portal in less than two minutes." Vegeta said.

"Than why don't you?" Gen asked.

Vegeta said nothing more to Gen except "Big Bang Attack!" as he fired a small but very powerful blast of energy directly at Gen, who happened to be standing in front of the device powering the portal.

Vegeta's blast passed threw Gen, and struck the device. The energy of the device seemed to disrupt Gen's ability to phase, and the white haired Neo Saiyan yelled in alarm as the incomplete portal fell on top of him, causing a tremendous explosion.

Vegeta hovered over the destroyed remains of the structure with his arms crossed.

"You didn't even deserve a proper fight." Vegeta said before flying off.

On another side of the planet Trunks flew over a frigid white mountain range. A raging blizzard made it difficult for him to see. Instead Trunks relied on his ability to sense energy. Eventually he came to a tall platform of metal, at the top of which was the circular device which worked to stabilize the portal inside it. The moment Trunks arrived at the top of the structure he felt a familiar presence.

"Hello Trunks. It will be good to finally have a chance to finish our fight. Sorry about before, I had to cut short our battle just when it was getting interesting." A deep commanding voice said.

Trunks looked above to see the descending form of General Terra, clad in his obsidian black armor and his winged helmet still covering his pale white face.

"General Terra, It figures you would end up guarding this portal." Trunks said, his golden armor covered in a thin layer of ice and snow.

"It is not as though I knew you would be the one to come to the portal I was guarding. This is mere coincidence, nothing more." Terra said with a smile on his ghoulish face.

Trunks ignored Terra and looked up at the portal. From his knowledge of artificial time portals, he knew that he had minutes before this one was completed.

"I'm afraid I don't have time to fight you Terra. Unless I destroy that portal your master wins, and I can't allow that." Trunks said with a serious expression on his face.

"And I'm afraid I cannot let you lay a finger on that portal. My master's armies only need one stable portal of this size in order for our plans to be a success." Terra said.

"You should know there is nothing that will prevent history from repeating itself. Krysis cares only about himself. What is to stop the Earth from once again turning into that blackened wasteland you came here from?" Trunks said.

"Its far to late for me to turn my back on my master. I betrayed the Time Guardians Trunks. It was me who allowed Krysis to destroy the order. I'm not surprised you still don't recognize me. I was called Mordred once, long long ago." Terra said

"I always had suspicions that Krysis could never have penetrated the Time Fortress' defenses without inside help. If what you claim is the truth than I finally know who the traitor really was." Trunks said, slowly drawing his broad sword from its scabbard.

"You should have known it was only a matter of time. The Time Guardians were a decadent corrupt organization. All they ever accomplished was maintaining the status quo. My master Krysis has shown me a vision that my father and the order would never had the courage to embrace." Terra said, holding out his right hand, in which his enormous two handed claymore materialized.

Trunks yelled, quickly powering up to Super Saiyan Four in a flash.

Trunks turned his blue eyed gaze towards Terra and spoke in a deeper, more intimidating voice than he had just moments earlier.

"How about we settle this in one attack, each of us holding none of our power back." Trunks said

"I can agree to that." Terra said, a fierce red aura materializing around the black armored warrior.

Both warriors flew backwards. Trunks held Excalibur towards his opponent and said:

"For the honor of the Time Guardians."

With those last words Trunks and Terra rushed towards each other, sword in hand. Trunks was certain he struck Terra after their blades had briefly crossed.

Trunks turned around and saw Terra floating, seemingly unharmed. Something was wrong.

"It seems that having your soul split in two has had its effect on you Trunks. Your full power is now less than half your former strength. You cannot defeat me with such a pathetic power level." Terra said, affectionately stroking his sword.

Trunks gazed in horror at the glowing white gash in his armor. He started to see double.

"I believe this will be the last time I see you. Time Guardian Trunks." Terra said with a quick chuckle as Trunks suddenly split into two.

Future Trunks appeared first, wearing his blue capsule corporation jacket, black pants and orange boots. The other Trunks, with his orange scarf, blue shirt, and khaki pants appeared seconds afterwords.

"This is bad." Future Trunks said, gazing at the vastly more powerful Terra nearby.

"If Time Guardian Trunks couldn't beat this guy, how could we hope to?" Trunks said in alarm.

"I can answer that. Neither of you can defeat me. Time Guardian Trunks had hundreds of years of experience, and I was still stronger than he was. Neither of you have a snowball's chance in hell of beating me. Plus there is the matter of the portal. You probably have five minutes at best before a permanent link is established." Terra said.

"Well there is fusion. I doubt we can get the swords to fuse us again, but the dance might work." Trunks suggested to his counterpart.

"I'll try it once." Future Trunks said, not exactly thrilled with the idea of performing the dance fusion.

"Go ahead and try, I doubt this fusion will be any stronger than Time Guardian Trunks." Terra said arrogantly, deciding to allow the two Trunks the opportunity to fuse.

Thanks to the time the two spent sharing the same mind as Time Guardian Trunks, Future Trunks had the knowledge needed to preform the metamorian style fusion dance.

Both Trunks stood like mirror images to the other as they each preformed the steps necessary for the fusion dance.

After all the steps were preformed a blinding flash of light forced Terra to cover his eyes.

Standing in place of both Trunks was a very unique looking warrior. The warrior had Trunk's facial features, but his lavender hair was spiky and arched in a widow's peak, much like Vegeta.

A black metamorian style vest with gold trimming covered the warrior's chest. A blue sash along with white pants covered the warrior's legs, and sleek dark blue boots covered the warrior's feet.

Immediately the warrior yelled in a voice that sounded like two Trunks speaking at once. The warrior was now a Super Saiyan Three, with no eyebrows, waist-long golden hair, and slightly increased muscle mass.

"So you found a way to increase your power level, so what, your still nothing compared to me." Terra said, not impressed with this new fusion.

"You will be. I'm Trunks times two. I fly like a butterfly, and I sting like a bee. The name is Unkstr and don't you forget it!" The fusion said.

"I should just put you out of your misery before you embarrass yourself any further." Terra said, then rushed towards "Unkstr" with his black claymore in hand.

Unkstr easily dodged Terra's sword by flipping upwards in midair. Standing upside-down on nothing but air, the fusion looked at Terra as he turned around and prepared to attack yet again.

"I'm not like other fusions see? I like to finish things quick and easy!" Unkstr said, then flipped around and held both hands towards Terra.

"Big Tree Buster!" The fusion yelled, sending an enormous yellow comet at the black armored warrior.

Terra grabbed ahold of the attack, trying with all his might to stop it.

"How could I possibly have not realized he was hiding the bulk of his power?" Terra said before he and the yellow comet-like energy blast impacted the portal device.

"Why did I beat you so easily? I had superior strategy." Unkstr said with a very Vegeta-like smirk.

In yet another part of the world Piccolo flew over a vast jungle, his golden cape moving from the wind generated by Piccolo's high-speed flight.

Piccolo approached a tall metal tower. He sensed a strong power at the top of the structure, near where Piccolo saw the enormous portal coming into existence.

Once Piccolo reached the top of the structure he saw a beautiful woman with dark black hair, piercing green eyes, wearing a sleek female variation of the blue saiyan-style armor.

The woman clapped her hands at seeing Piccolo.

"Took you long enough to get past Aquila." The woman said in a charming and almost aristocratic feminine voice.

"And you are?" Piccolo asked.

The raven-haired woman smiled before speaking.

"Corvus. Now Piccolo don't think it would be best if you hurry up and destroy the portal above us? That is what you came here to do is it not?" Corvus said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Your just going to let me destroy it?" Piccolo asked with a suspicious tone in his voice.

"Yes, believe it or not but our goals are the same. We both desire an end to Krysis and his plans. I'll tell you more, but only after the portal is gone. Oh, and one last thing, it has to be you who destroys it." Corvus said with a slight smile.

"Fine." Piccolo said, pointing his right arm upwards in preparation for an energy attack.

"_Something is going on here. Why would she allow me to attack something so integral to her master's plans unless Krysis was never her master to begin with." _Piccolo thought as he fired a blast of yellow energy at the portal structure, which promptly exploded.

Piccolo flew a safe distance away, and continued to hover over the jungle below. In no time at all Corvus flew nearby.

"That takes care of all three portals. Now I can explain to you who I really am and what my true purpose is." Corvus said

'I'm listening" Piccolo said, crossing his arms.

"Over a year ago Aquila, Leos and I were assigned by our superior, General Dwight Yumimoto, to infiltrate the nations which later formed the Vanguard. We had suspicions that someone was trying to convince them to go to war against the Royal government. Once the king died, our suspicions were proven correct." Corvus said

"How did you end up as Neo Saiyans, or associated with GenTech for that matter?" Piccolo asked.

"We managed to convince GenTech to accept us as candidates for a kind of super soldier program. The Vanguard was told by GenTech that the Z-fighters, that is you and your friends Piccolo, were enemies of the freedom loving peoples of Earth and agents of the Royal government. GenTech told everyone that the Z-fighters could only be stopped by beings with similiar powers. So GenTech asked for volunteers. Along with me, my brother Aquila and my husband Leos, GenTech recruited Hydrus and Pisces, two soldiers who had been deemed to violent to serve in the Vanguard's regular forces." Corvus said

"So what is your true objective? Why allow yourself to be changed, why allow someone you love to die?" Piccolo said, remembering his fight with Leos.

"It had to be done. We had to convince Gen and Krysis that we were utterly loyal and that the formula to make us complete slaves of Gen had worked. Leos knew that when he fought you. Our orders from General Yumimoto were to get close to the enemies' ultimate goal and help in destroying it. But I could not destroy the portal myself without alerting Krysis. Once he returns to Earth Aquila and I intend on using all the power we have in order to destroy him for good. We will wait until he least suspects it." Corvus said.

"An assassination. I doubt it will work on someone like Krysis." Piccolo said.

"We have to try." Corvus said

"I respect your dedication to your cause. I will make sure nobody else finds out about your plans. While you fight Krysis your way, my friends and I will fight him our way. If either of us ends up defeating Krysis, so much the better." Piccolo said before floating higher into the air and flying away.

Meanwhile, far from Earth on a large green world..

The newly transformed Super Saiyan Five Goku slowly walked towards a very intimidated and frightened Krysis.

Krysis had heard all the tales of the legendary Goku's strength in battle, but even he had never imagined Goku had become this powerful.

Every step Goku took completely shook the planet. Arcs of electricity moved across and around Goku's body, which was now nearly twice the size of Krysis. Goku's hair and fur nearly made him appear as though he were made of metal, not flesh and blood.

If strength as a concept had a physical manifestation, Goku would be it.

Krysis once again removed his swords from their scabbards, knowing that fighting unarmed was out of the question at this point.

Krysis warped towards Goku, using his advanced instant transmission to attack the Super Saiyan Five at faster than light speeds. Unfortunately for Krysis, Goku seemed unaffected by Krysis attack. His skin seemed so hard it now acted like armor.

In shock Krysis backed away from Goku, he looked briefly at his weapons, they seemed fine.

"I'm telling you now to give up. You cannot defeat me Krysis. The moment I transformed into a Super Saiyan Five was the moment this fight ended with me as the victor." Goku said in a deep voice.

"The fight will only end with you injured and in pain on the ground begging me to show you mercy. Coming against me like this is unforgivable. I am the rightful ruler of this and every other world." Krysis said defiantly.

"Sorry to break it to you, but the only thing your the ruler of right now is yourself and the choices you make. You now have the opportunity to give up, change your ways, and live a peaceful and perhaps even happy life. Or you can refuse my offer and die, it is as simple as that." Goku said, his white flaming eyes gazing down on Krysis like the gaze of some kind of angel of wrath.

"I..I will not give up!" Krysis said as red energy poured into his weapons.

"Don't follow this path Krysis. It will only end with your own destruction." Goku said with compassion in his voice.

"Light..engulfed by eternal darkness. Sword of the Infinite Eclipse!" Krysis yelled

Krysis at lightspeed carved the image of a red eclipse in front of him. Before Goku could dodge or avoid the attack Krysis was on him, slashing at the silver giant with two swords glowing with red energy.

Goku yelled in pain before Krysis fired a colossal sphere of red energy at Goku. The combination attack sent Goku backwards a short distance, but other than that seemingly had little, if any effect on the Super Saiyan Five.

Goku stood proudly once more and turned a slightly angry gaze at Krysis, who backed away once again in fright.

Krysis' look of fear soon turned into a grin shortly before he placed his swords once again in their scabbards, then launched himself at Goku who barely had enough time to dodge

"I will not fear you Super Saiyan Five. Now see why you should be the one who is afraid. Behold the power of the greatest conqueror the universe has ever seen!" Krysis said with a grin as he fired a quick series of red comet-like energy blasts at Goku.

Goku held his hands back and readied a Kamehameha Wave.

Krysis delivered a fierce series of kicks to Goku's chest, causing Goku little pain. Krysis then backed away just in time as Goku released his attack.

"Ha!" Goku said, unleashing his attack, the standard blue energy wave of the Kamehameha at Krysis. Before the attack could hit the Crimson Tyrant, Krysis used his advanced instant tranmission to phase out of reality slightly, causing Goku's attack to pass right threw him as though it were air.

"What the?" Goku said in surprise.

Krysis then reverted back to his normal state, and turned his attention towards Goku.

"You would be surprised what Instant Tranmission can really do Goku. Moving quickly from location to location at faster than light speeds is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg." Krysis said

Goku then flew high into the air, but Krysis followed, Goku then aimed a flying kick with his right leg, but Krysis blocked it with his right forearm.

Pain shot up threw Goku's body, but it wasn't anything Goku couldn't handle.

Krysis reached for Goku's throat, but Goku managed to fly backwards in time to avoid Krysis' reach. Krysis then flew forward and aimed a flying punch at Goku's head. This time it connected, and Goku went flying into a nearby green cliff and kicked up a large dust cloud.

Krysis flew over the cliff and then looked down at Goku, struck out his right hand, and began to power up a red colored blast.

"You can't win this fight." Goku said, rocketing upwards out of the cliff and then delivering a fierce double kick to Krysis' chest, which sent the crimson tyrant flying backwards. Goku then teleported behind the soaring Krysis and slammed him downwards with his fists into the green grass covered ground below.

Krysis got up off the ground, cuts and bruises all over his body.

Goku walked over to Krysis and began to speak.

"I always hate having to do this to my opponents. But no matter how much mercy and kindness I show some people, they always refuse to change. Frieza, Eis Shenron, the list goes on. But I shouldn't be surprised. Someone like you would never change." Goku said, holding out his hands in a familiar position.

Krysis didn't respond and simply got into a combat stance.

"Grand Kamehameha!" Goku yelled, firing an indigo hued beam of intense power in Krysis' direction.

Krysis screamed as he attempted to redirect or at least hold back the attack. Instead the Crimson Tyrant was sent soaring backwards and then into the planet itself, which began to crack apart.

As flames leapt from the now doomed world, Goku took a moment to reflect.

"_Yet another tyrant who would rather die than change. Yet another world which had to be destroyed for the sake of others." _Goku thought before teleporting back to Earth with his Instant Transmission.

Goku appeared near Aquila and his father Bardock, who stood as though they were waiting for him. Gohan arrived soon afterwards. Goku reverted back to his normal form seconds after arrival, only giving Bardock and Aquila a brief glimpse at his Super Saiyan Five form.

"It looks like there were only three portals. Vegeta, Piccolo and Trunks took care of them." Gohan said.

"Then all that remains is to eliminate Krysis himself." Aquila said

With a rush of air, Vegeta, Piccolo and both Trunks and Future Trunks arrived.

"Trunks your two people again?" Gohan asked

"Yes, Terra canceled the fusion from the swords, so we were forced to use the Fusion Dance to defeat him and destroy the portal." Trunks said.

"Something I'd rather not ever do again." Future Trunks said with sigh.

Vegeta began to laugh briefly.

"Oh come on, its not that bad is it?" Trunks asked.

"Yes son, it is. Its a cosmic joke, forcing two great warriors to dance in order to save the universe. It would be something from a bad comic's stand up routine if it were not sadly reality" Vegeta said.

"Well Krysis is dead. I'm just glad we defeated an enemy this time without massive damage to the Earth." Goku said.

Bardock continued to look at the sky. The others were too busy celebrating to notice. A great malevolent power was building deep in space. It was filled with nothing but rage and hate. It was stronger, but Bardock knew it was Krysis.

"He lives. Krysis lives and he is coming." Aquila said, looking up at the sky, where a small red star-like object could be seen.

"Your kidding me?" Goku said as the star grew larger.

All the Z-Fighters along with Aquila scattered as the red meteor landed, causing a huge explosion in the process of striking the Earth.

Just as the smoke was clearing Corvus arrived and landed alongside Aquila.

"You two dare to betray me?" Krysis said in a voice dripping with rage.

"You desire nothing less than the enslavement of the human race and everything else on this planet. You must be stopped." Corvus said.

Corvus fired a black beam at Krysis, while Aquila sent a tornado in the Crimson' Tyrant's direction.

Both attacks vanished right before striking Krysis.

With the smoke clear, all present could see that Goku had indeed damaged Krysis. The youth's mask now had a large crack on the left side, while the Pariahan's body had numerous cuts and burns.

"I have no use for traitors." Krysis said, firing two laser blasts from his eyes at Corvus and Aquila respectively.

Both blasts pierced the two Neo-Saiyan's hearts, killing them both instantly.

"Krysis you monster. How could you murder someone like that without at least giving them a fair fight?" Goku said with shock and rage in his voice.

"I tire of honor, of mercy. Thanks to you all my plans are now ruined. All that I have left is revenge. I will drink my fill before I turn all this planet's inhabitants into my slaves." Krysis said, his red aura surrounding him and resembling an out of control inferno.

"I don't think so. Sacred Beam Cannon!" Piccolo yelled, sending a white spiraling comet-like beam in Krysis' direction.

Vegeta thought Piccolo had the right idea, and yelled "Hyper Nova!" sending his strongest attack, which took the form of a flaming blue beam rocketing towards Krysis at high speed.

The two attacks struck Krysis, nearly knocking him over.

"Riot Javelin!" Bardock yelled, firing a white orb of energy in Krysis' direction.

The three attacks slammed into Krysis, who was forced backward slightly but otherwise seemed unaffected.

Goku yelled, shaking the planet and seemingly distorting reality itself nearby as he once again transformed into a Super Saiyan Five.

"I'll finish this! Double..Dragon..FIST!" Goku yelled, rushing down into the enormous crater, both his arms engulfed in golden energy.

Krysis fired a series of high-speed energy blasts at Goku as he approached, but Goku shrugged the weak attacks off, ignoring them completely as he advanced on his enemy.

Slamming Krysis with both fists, Krysis screamed as two two golden dragons encircled him, then flew upwards, flying in a manner that made them resemble a DNA molecule, or a double helix.

Another great explosion occurred, and all the Z-Fighters, including Goku flew back out of the blast radius. All tried to detect Krysis' energy. All could sense something from the crater.

Rage, fear, hate. A wave of horrible energy washed over all the Z-Fighters. Krysis lived. The crimson tyrant hovered above the crater. A red vapor leaked out from his heavily cracked mask.

"Your all fools. This mask was the only thing that prevented me from using all of my vast power. I have had thousands of years to train and get stronger. Did you all really think what I've shown so far was my true form and power? Actually it does not really matter. You will all die shortly anyway." Krysis said as a white unicorn-like horn grew from his forehead.

Krysis entire form began to glow red. More and more of the red vapor emerged, forming a cloud overhead.

For vast distances around the Earth birds flew in terror at what they felt was approaching. Herds of dinosaurs, horses and all manner of ground dwelling creatures tried to get as far away as they could from the horrible force they felt was coming.

As Bardock gazed at the ongoing spectacle, he remembered what he had told Gohan earlier that day.

"_Not all battles can be won." _


	17. A Twisted Heart

The red cloud had grown to a truly monstrous size. Its crimson miasma now covered the entire area. Just when Bardock imagined the horrid cloud to be covering the entire Earth, the cloud shrank and became a large red tornado which seemed to be absorbed into the glowing red figure at the center of the vast crater.

It seemed the transformation was complete. All the Z-fighters gathered at the top of the crater at the figure which hovered a hairs breathe above the ground.

"Is that really Krysis down there?" Gohan asked, seeing a tall figure wearing a long flowing red cape.

"Thats him all right." Future Trunks said, sensing a much more sinister energy coming from Krysis than what he felt earlier.

Krysis looked older than he had in his previous form. He now stood about the same height as Trunks, perhaps slightly taller. Krysis had a thin but muscular physique. It was a body built for speed as well as power. The metal that covered Krysis' mechanical arm now covered half his chest, and had changed from a silver to a black coloration. Krysis still wore his black colored cloth pants and red sash, and his skin color was the same tan it had been in his original form.

As for what had changed, Krysis now possessed a long, curved black horn on his forehead, as well as black rings around his now orange eyes. Krysis' hair had grown down to his back, and was now straight and wispy.

Krysis' face was fully exposed for the first time. He had a young, handsome visage, by human standards he looked around twenty-something. He was clean-shaven.

Suddenly Krysis began to look over himself. He stared at both his organic and his artificial hands. He looked down at his now larger body, then he began to do a series of stretching exercises.

"Someone get this guy a mirror." Vegeta said as Krysis began to test his arms, making quick punches into the air.

Piccolo looked down at the bodies of Aquila and Corvus. He clutched his fist in anger.

"They all sacrificed their lives for nothing." Piccolo said, a mixture of sorrow and rage in his voice.

"As long as we are alive they did not die in vain. I don't know what exactly your talking about Piccolo, but I know they opposed Krysis, and I know he murdered them." Gohan said to his old mentor.

"I've had enough sitting around." Goku said, looking down at the fallen Neo Saiyans, then back at Krysis with disgust.

Before anyone could say or do anything, Goku rocketed down into the crater towards Krysis.

Vegeta quickly followed Goku, his Super Saiyan Five power suddenly leaping upwards to a level near that of Goku's.

"You both are just going to rush in? We don't even know what he is capable of now!" Future Trunks yelled.

"There's only one way to find out." Vegeta yelled back.

"_This entire affair reminds me of Cell all over again. Well at least this time father didn't actually help make things worse." _Future Trunks thought.

"We should try combining the swords again." Trunks said to his counterpart.

Future Trunks pulled his own sword from its scabbard as Gohan and Piccolo followed Goku and Vegeta into battle against Krysis.

Goku slammed Krysis hard in the chest with a punch from his right arm. If Krysis felt the attack, he gave no indication as he continued to look himself over.

Goku yelled as he fired a quick, yet powerful, Kamehameha Wave directly at Krysis. After the blue colored beam struck Krysis, to Goku's shock his attack seemed to have absolutely no effect.

Vegeta was next. The Saiyan Prince flew at Krysis and began rapidly punching the Crimson Tyrant. After about a minute, Vegeta backed away and yelled "Hyper Nova!", firing another round of his ultimate attack, a flaming blue energy beam, in Krysis direction.

The blast struck true and a blue flames marked the path Vegeta's attack had taken, but the Hyper Nova itself seemed to have little effect.

Both Piccolo and Gohan fired a couple of yellow Masenko beams at Krysis. Neither of them had any better luck than had Goku or Vegeta.

Finally Krysis ceased ignoring what was going on around him and looked in Goku's direction, opening his mouth to speak.

"Your pathetic attempts at harming me are amusing." Krysis said as he walked slowly at the bottom of the crater, slowly making his way to the top.

"Your power could not have grown to the extent that two fully powered Super Saiyan Fives cannot harm you." Vegeta said from behind Krysis, the later's long red cape flowing to the left in the sudden breeze.

"My strength did not grow, it merely returned to normal levels." Krysis said, passing by the two fallen Neo Saiyans.

Krysis looked downward briefly at the two fallen warriors.

"Two fools who tried to attain peace by killing me. Now I stand alive and well, while these two rot." Krysis said, then cast his orange gaze upwards then into the distance.

"People all over this sad world want peace. But there will be no peace, for soon all shall know of my rage." Krysis said with a dark, threatening tone before flying into the sky and speeding off to some unknown destination.

"We have to follow him." Goku yelled before flying off after Krysis.

As Vegeta, Gohan and Piccolo took off after Goku, both Trunks looked over the very similar weapons in their hands.

"I don't understand. Why won't the swords work again?" Trunks asked his counterpart.

"I think I know why." Future Trunks said with a grim tone.

"Then tell me." Trunks asked, his impatience growing.

"Time Guardian Trunks, who's soul was split in two and was inside both of us, is truly dead now. Remember when Terra slashed his golden armor? I think somehow Terra killed him by doing that." Future Trunks sad sadly.

"Lets hope thats not the case. We should hurry and catch up with the others." Trunks suggested.

"Actually I have a better idea." Future Trunks said

Meanwhile Gohan, Vegeta, Goku and Piccolo flew at high speeds in pursuit of Krysis. There was no doubt that Krysis was playing with them, as he was capable of instant transmission and could go anywhere in a flash if he wished.

Krysis led the Z-Fighters over grassland, over desert, over mountains and over vast stretches of forest. Noone but Krysis knew where they were going until the familiar slopes of Mount Paozu came into view.

"_What is Krysis doing coming here? I have a bad feeling about this." _Goku thought.

At the forest clearing in the region near Mount Paozu itself, Krillin had brought back a couple of giant fish from the nearby river. Videl, Chi-Chi, Bui, Pan, , Master Roshi as well as both Seventeen and Eighteen sat around the fire as Krillin made sure the Fish was cooked properly. He wanted the meal cooked nicely, but not so much as to be burnt.

"This reminds me of the old days when Goku and I were first married. Goku would go into the woods and catch fish, and we used to always eat them over a fire like this." Chi Chi said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"You sound sad Chi Chi, whats wrong?" Eighteen asked, noticing the small tears going down Chi-Chi's aged face.

"I don't know if Goku loves me anymore. Maybe I was too overbearing, and thats why he always spends so many years away from me." Chi Chi said, exploding in a fit of tears.

Krillin turned towards Chi Chi and spoke.

"To be honest Chi Chi you weren't always that pleasant to be around. But I wouldn't go as far as to say that Goku does not love you." Krillin said before quickly turning back to the fish.

Seventeen couldn't believe how much older Krillin looked from the last time he had seen him years ago. Krillin had a greying mustache and grey hair, looking his age.

"_Time really does change people doesn't it. Good thing I'm an Android, I'd hate to see what I'd look like if I aged like humans do." _Seventeen thought to himself.

Seventeen looked over at each of the people gathered by the fire. The ancient Master Roshi, with his sun glasses, white beard and mustache, and his Hawaiian t-shirt, sat silently, glancing at Chi Chi with what Seventeen assumed was sympathy.

Master Roshi had been Goku's first martial arts teacher, and the inventor of the Kamehameha wave technique.

Sitting next to the old master on the right was Hercule Satan, former world martial arts champion and father to Videl, as well as Grandfather to Pan. Hercule had been an opportunist once. He shamelessly lied about defeating Cell, all in order to advance his fame and fortune. Later he helped in Buu's defeat, and went on to win the next few martial arts tournaments. The year after his final match with Uub, Hercule had decided to retire, letting others claim the title of champion.

Seventeen fought the urge to laugh. His sister had told him of the time she had blackmailed Hercule. What she had done with all the prize money, Seventeen could only guess.

Sitting next to Hercule on the right was Bui. Bui Kato did not talk much. Seventeen had a feeling why. He was ashamed. Ashamed of his brother's actions, and ashamed of his family ties to Dr. Gero. Seventeen did not hate Bui. He knew he was not responsible for the actions of his relatives.

Looking over all the people gathered around the fire made Seventeen happy. Perhaps this was the closest he had felt to having a real family.

"Whenever an adventure or opportunity to save the world jumps up, Goku is always gone. Often that means he won't be back for years. Why doesn't he ever visit? He has that instant transmission or whatever its called, he could have at least said hi once in awile." Chi Chi said.

Suddenly there was a rush of air. Bardock appeared from behind Master Roshi, nearly making the old man jump into the fire in surprise.

"Shame on you for sneaking up on an old man" Master Roshi said, looking at Bardock.

"Goku? Is that you?" Chi Chi asked, seeing Bardock threw the dim light of the fire.

"No, its just me, you know, Goku's dad?" Bardock said.

"Oh. Could of fooled me, you look just like him." Master Roshi said.

"See? Why couldn't Goku come back here using that technique all those times he was gone?" Chi Chi asked.

There was an awkward silence in the clearing. Nobody knew exactly what to say. Nobody also could predict the horror which was about to unfold.

The entire mood was shattered when Krysis landed in the clearing, his entire form glowing with a frightening red aura.

His orange eyes gazed at the crowd around the fire, many of which assumed defensive postures. Krysis could only guess those were the ones in the group trained to fight in some way.

"A group of misfits and washed-up former fighters whose time had long since past. That is all this crowd is." Krysis said, crossing his arms.

Seventeen tried to scan Krysis for a power level, but to his horror the exact number was so high he got an internal calculation error.

"Um, guys we cannot fight this guy and hope to win." Seventeen said with alarm.

"How right you are." Krysis said with a smile.

Krysis sensed Goku and his friends would arrive very shortly, so he made his next move.

"I'm not afraid of this guy." Pan said before flying towards Krysis.

"Pan no! Come back here now!" Videl said in alarm.

Krysis grabbed Pan by her head in one swift motion just as Goku and company arrived.

"Ah Goku, your just in time." Krysis said with a sinister smile on his lips.

"Put my granddaughter down..now." Goku said with a threatening tone.

Krillin looked at his oldest friend. He was taller, and silver, nearly looking like he was made of some kind of metal. His eyes were frightening, looking like tiny flames. Now he knew why Goku had left with Shenron.

Just as Piccolo, Gohan and Vegeta landed Krysis tightened his grip on Pan's head, causing Pan to cry out in pain and fear.

"Let me go you creep!" Pan yelled, attempting to kick Krysis.

"Your a feisty one. I love it!" Krysis said, bringing his face closer until it was a hair's breathe away. Krysis then opened his mouth and a long black tongue emerged which he quickly licked the girl's face with, much to everyone present's disgust.

"Delicious!" Krysis said with a smile.

"We won't say it again Krysis..let her go NOW!" Gohan said, his anger building.

"And what if I don't? What if I like little Pan here. And I mean really, really like her?" Krysis asked with a smile.

"Grandpa help me!" Pan screamed.

"Help me she says. As if he could." Krysis said, his tone mocking Pan's panicked words.

Both Gohan and Goku had enough, and rushed at Krysis. To both's surprise they passed right threw Krysis and Pan as though they were air.

"You really want Pan don't you?" Krysis asked

"We can fight somewhere else just leave her out of this." Gohan said.

"Fine. Since you really don't want me to have her, here catch!" Krysis said, tossing Pan high into the sky.

Both Gohan and Goku flew into the air to catch the girl. On the ground Krysis smiled, then fired a small red energy blast at Pan from his left hand. Pan screamed part of the word "Grandpa" before exploding in a combination of red and orange flames.

Gohan and Goku were in complete shock when they landed. Shock turned to rage as both charged once again at Krysis. Try as they might they couldn't seem to land a single attack.

Videl broke down into tears, Hercule put an arm around his daughter.

"Oh don't look so sad people, you can just bring everyone back with the Dragonballs remember?" Krysis said looking over the crowd as Goku and Gohan continued to futilely attack the Crimson Tyrant, rushing threw him over and over but passing threw him each time as though he were mere vapor.

When everyone thought things couldn't get any worse, in a sudden move Krysis grabbed Chi Chi by the head, turning his head towards Goku and Gohan and smiling a wide smile.

"Krysis..no..please don't do this!" Goku begged, getting on his knees.

"Leave my mother out of this!" Gohan yelled.

Suddenly an arm emerged from the crimson aura surrounding Krysis and grabbed Gohan by the neck, holding the Super Saiyan Four off the ground in a choking grip.

"I don't like your tone of voice. Perhaps if you bow before me and worship me, maybe then I'll leave your poor mother here alone. Or I might not, watching the look on your faces is just too much fun." Krysis said before chuckling softly to himself.

"Krysis, I'm warning you. If you harm her, I will make you pay." Goku said

Vegeta then stepped forward and looked at Krysis with disgust.

"What kind of coward uses a person's family against their opponents in battle? Whats wrong Krysis? Too weak to fight without taking a hostage?" Vegeta said with his trademark smirk.

Piccolo smiled at Vegeta's courage.

"Your assuming I'm doing this because I need some kind of handicap in order to win? Your too funny. I'm only doing this because it amuses me." Krysis said.

"Goku, please help me." Chi Chi said as tears ran down her face.

"Your a freak." Vegeta said, trying in his mind to think of a strategy.

"Your insults hurt my self-esteem. You see I'm really a sensitive person deep down." Krysis said

"GOKU!" Chi Chi yelled.

"Its not like he actually cares about you. All those years spent apart, and Goku returns not to see you but to save the Earth yet again. Every time he is gone he never visits, he never calls, he never writes. It seems to me Chi Chi that your husband is a better hero than a husband...or a father." Krysis said before exploding in a fit of maniacal, almost psychotic laughter.

"Just because my son was gone, did not mean he never cared." Bardock said

"Thats right, father like son eh? I guess I'll let your wife go Goku." Krysis said, tossing Chi Chi in Goku's direction before once again sending a red blast of energy Goku's way.

It seemed to happen in slow motion. Chi Chi approached Goku, when suddenly she simply exploded. There was not even a scream or cry of pain. Chi Chi was there one moment, then she was just..gone.

Gohan's power surged, and he managed to break free of Krysis' aura with a scream of anguish and rage. Gohan advanced on Krysis, and tried to hit the Crimson Tyrant with multiple punches, but as before none managed to hit him.

Goku powered down, tears flowed down his face. Normally he would be angry, and that anger would give him the strength needed to defeat his enemy. But Goku could do nothing. Not one of his attacks seemed to even harm Krysis in his new form.

Vegeta looked at Goku. He truly had never seen his friend and rival like this before. Goku seemed utterly broken. His anger at Krysis and his sorrow at losing his loved ones combined with the knowledge this battle seemed hopeless had turned Goku into a silent, sobbing wreck.

"Like I said before, there is no need to be upset, you can just have the dragonballs wish your family back. Then you can see them again. You can have a happy reunion, only for me to kill them again...and again...and again." Krysis said, erupting into laughter.

"_Krysis seemed to be phased whenever any of our attacks struck him. Its not as though his power is so great that we couldn't hurt him. Its because he seems to be moving so fast our attacks are too slow to hit him. Wait..thats it!" _Vegeta thought.

"Kakorot, get up. I've figured out Krysis and his bag of tricks. He's moving too fast for our attacks to strike him. All we need to do is move just as fast and we can defeat him." Vegeta said with a smile.

Goku heard Vegeta, smiled and got up from the ground and stood.

"So you figured it out did you? Well the knowledge of how I'm avoiding your attacks won't help you unless you can also preform the same technique. All Goku is capable of is the instant transmission. But there are units of time shorter and smaller than an instant." Krysis explained while he smiled at the shock and horror of the crowd around the campfire.

"The Technique I use I like to call the Sub-Instant Transmission. It is twice as fast as the standard technique, and even allows me to attack or to dodge attacks. I'm afraid unless you also master this technique you won't be able to harm me." Krysis said with a smile.

"Oh I think I know someone who can move that fast, don't you Kakorot?" Vegeta asked, smiling at his friend.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do." Goku said with a smile of his own before yelling as he powered up once again to Super Saiyan Five.

"Every new transformation he gets seems to be more flashy than the last." Krillin commented quietly.

"Dr. Gero would have had a heart attack if Goku had been this strong back in the old days." Seventeen said quietly to himself.

Without another word, Vegeta and Goku flew high into the night sky above.

Krysis looked upwards and narrowed his eyes.

"What are those two planning?" Krysis asked aloud.

"I'll tell you what they are planning. A way to defeat you thats what. So we ruin your big plan to bring your giant mechanical army from the future here and you take it out on innocent people. Did you really think you would get away with it?" Bardock said, crossing his arms.

"Spare me the heroic speech. You have no idea what my real intentions are. And I really doubt your son and his moronic royal friend are in a position to punish me for my crimes as I have no doubt you'd say." Krysis said, gazing at Bardock.

"Oh I think your actions show us just what your intentions are. Your nothing more than a murderer. There really is no more to you than that." Piccolo said.

Krysis turned his gaze on the Namek and narrowed his eyes.

"Such insolence. I should kill you where you stand Namek." Krysis said.

"Go ahead and try." Piccolo said, showing no fear.

In the sky Goku and Vegeta spoke.

"The fusion dance will probably be useless as a Super Saiyan Five. Remember Kakorot, our battle with Omega Shenron. The fusion at the level of Super Saiyan Four only lasted ten minutes maybe. At our current level it likely wouldn't last more than five minutes. That is cutting it pretty close." Vegeta said, crossing his arms in his usual fashion.

"Normally I'd say five minutes is more than enough, but we still don't know that much of Krysis new form and whatever other powers and abilities he is hiding. There may be a way to get more time though." Goku said

"You can't possibly mean the earrings Kakorot. Only Kohryu has earrings worth using. No offense but I do not want to be permanently fused with you." Vegeta said.

"I wasn't referring to the earrings. When the Metamorians in otherworld taught me the fusion, they mentioned a higher level of the technique only usable by those with sufficient spiritual energy. At the time I learned the dance fusion they said even as a Super Saiyan Three I did not have enough." Goku said, seeing a shooting star briefly cross the sky.

"I'm listening" Vegeta said.

"Well as your aware in order for the Metamorian Fusion to work you need perfect symmetry in position and in power. The result of which is a warrior with more than twice the powers of the warriors that fused to create him. The advanced version requires us to give nearly all our reserve power up in order to use the technique. We also have to fly upwards while performing the technique." Goku said.

"If we screw up the fusion even once though, we will be out of power and at Krysis' mercy. Kakorot are you sure that is wise?" Vegeta asked.

"We don't have much choice, unless you think I can figure out how to use that super instant transmission in five minutes?" Goku asked.

"It seems we have no choice than. One thing though Kakorot. If we screw this up, I'm blaming you." Vegeta said.

"That's not very nice!" Goku said briefly.

Meanwhile on the ground below.

Piccolo quickly avoided Krysis' aura as it stretched and grasped for him. Krysis himself stood with a cocky grin on his face, seemingly amused by Piccolo.

"Sacred Beam Cannon!" Piccolo yelled, tossing the white spiral beam attack in Krysis' direction.

The attack as expected soared right threw Krysis and into the distant forest, where a loud explosion was briefly heard.

"You know they say the definition of insanity is trying the same thing multiple times and expecting different results right?" Krysis said, amused at Piccolo's futile attempt at harming him.

"Sorry, I'm just a slow learner" Piccolo said with a smile.

Gohan and Bardock fired a Riot Javelin at Krysis, but as with Piccolo's attack both energy blasts passed harmlessly threw Krysis.

"How about you give us a freebie and let us hit you, just once?" Bardock asked

"I don't think so." Krysis said with a smirk as his eyes briefly shifted towards the onlookers at the campfire.

"A couple old men, one realllly old man, a grieving mother, and a couple of weak androids. What a sad bunch you all are. What ever happened to that former desert bandit or that three eyed guy you all used to hang out with? And where is that Uub kid for that matter?" Krysis asked

"Why do you want to know? So you can kill them too?" Krillin said

"No I was just curious that is all really." Krysis said.

"I'll never forgive you for what you did to my mother and my daughter. I will find a way to hurt you, mark my words." Gohan said with anger and frustration.

"On and on and on with the cliche speeches. You people really don't get out much do you?" Krysis said, turning towards a fully powered up Mystic Super Saiyan Four Gohan, who was in a combat pose.

"I don't care if you've heard it before. I mean what I say." Gohan said.

"Gohan you do realize I was doing you a favor right? Your mother was a whiny old hag and your daughter an angry, spoiled brat." Krysis said with a smile at a very angry Gohan.

"Its almost like he wants Gohan to get more angry or something." Krillin said quietly to himself.

"Shut your mouth before I shut it for you." Gohan said quietly, his voice betraying barely concealed rage.

"And if I don't?" Krysis asked with a calm tone.

"I'll kill you!" Gohan yelled, flying at Krysis and passing threw him, landing next to Bardock .

"Like that is ever going to happen. You can't even put a hand on me and you think you can kill me? Don't make me laugh. You should be thanking me. Attachments to other people, or love as you call it is simply your pathetic attempt at making up for your weaknesses." Krysis said with a smirk on his face.

"Shut up. I'm warning you." Gohan said, his voice dripping with anger.

"You think having loved ones makes you strong don't you? It makes you weak. Why do you think I'm so powerful? How do you suppose I've survived thousands of years on my own?" Krysis said as his red cape moved gently in the sudden breeze that swept threw the forest clearing.

"I have a feeling your about to tell us." Bardock said as he thought of nothing but strangling Krysis with his own bare hands. The last person he had hated this much was Frieza. But at least Frieza never gave twisted speeches, at least he hadn't to him.

"In conquering others I attain all that I need to enjoy my existence. I love only myself. Attachment leads to weakness, as do morals. Tell me son of Goku. Tell me what in this universe or any universe for that matter means more than yourself and your own power." Krysis asked.

"Your a sad, sorry excuse for an individual." Bardock said, stepping forward.

"Can you tell me with absolute certainty that there is more to life than the fulfillment of your own desires and personal happiness?" Krysis said as his red aura moved and twisted around him like some kind of tentacled monster.

"Yes I can. I have learned that life is not just about oneself, but about the people you choose to live life with. Sharing all your joy, all your worries, and all your sorrows with those you love. You said earlier that it was weakness to care and love others. I say it is a strength. You said we love others to make up for our own shortcomings, well I say one that does not love another is weak. A person who cannot love is either too afraid to open their heart to others, or is so full of hatred that bonding with another is impossible. Which are you Krysis?" Bardock said.

"Well I can see where your son gets his tendency to say those speeches of his. As for your question..I'm definitely the latter." Krysis said with a deadly tone to his voice.

Suddenly tendrils reached out from Krysis aura and grabbed Eighteen, Seventeen, Hercule, Videl, Master Roshi, and Krillin.

"If you gain strength from your loved ones, I wonder if killing them will weaken you? Let us find out shall we?" Krysis asked

Far above Goku and Vegeta stared at each other. They knew the risks such a fusion represented. If the two made even one mistake, they wouldn't have another chance.

"Alright Kakorot, lets get this over with shall we?" Vegeta asked.

Goku said nothing, simply nodding at his friend.

The two then flew upwards, each performing the steps for the fusion dance as they rose higher and higher into the sky.

"FUSE" Goku said.

"SION" Vegeta replied.

"HAA!" Both warriors yelled as they rose into the sky.

Suddenly the sky was lit with a bright flash of white light for a vast distance around. At the center of that light a warrior sat in a cross-legged position, hovering in midair.

The warrior combined the facial features of both Goku and Vegeta. His face favored Goku's a bit, but the warrior's waist-long blue hair had Vegeta's widow's peak. The warrior possessed a black metamorian vest with orange trim. He wore white pants with a red sash serving as a belt, as well as thin black boots on both feet.

Silver fur that gleamed as though it were metal covered the warrior's arms and chest. The warrior had a long thick monkey-like tail. From head to toe the warrior was covered in small blue bolts of bio-electricity. A flame-like aura of mixed blue and orange surrounded the warrior.

The warrior looked downwards and quickly descended, delivering a quick kick to Krysis when he entered the clearing which knocked the Crimson Tyrant far away into the forests of Mount Paozu. All those lifted into the air by Krysis landed on the ground.

Gogeta smiled at his friends and family briefly before turning back towards Krysis as he reentered the clearing.

"Fusion? I should have known." Krysis said, gazing at Super Saiyan Five Gogeta with contempt.

"Yes you should have known, but you were too busy giving twisted speeches now weren't you." Gogeta said, waving a finger at Krysis as he scolded him as though he were a child.

"So your able to harm me. So what. You probably don't have enough time to fight, let alone kill me. Do your worst Gohgeta or whatever your name is." Krysis said

"Before I begin I need to correct you. Goheta was the earring fusion of Gohan and Vegeta. I'm the dance fusion of Vegeta and Goku. Got it tough guy?" Gogeta said with Vegeta's smirk.

"Let it actually matters." Krysis said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh it does matter. Because as I said to someone else years ago, I am neither Goku nor Vegeta..I'm the one who will destroy you!" Gogeta said, then charged at Krysis and punched him high into the sky.


	18. A Shooting Star

Gogeta teleported in front of his opponent. Krysis did not seem to be surprised that he could keep up with his speed-increasing techniques. What really worried Gogeta however, was the fact that his opponent was not even bothering to counter attack or defend himself.

Gogeta slammed Krysis in the chest with hundreds of super-fast punches. The beating continued as the two warriors soared over and out of the forest. Krysis smiled as he allowed Gogeta to slam him with punch after punch. Gogeta was nearly given the impression that Krysis was not just a narcissist but perhaps a masochist as well.

That was until a brilliant aura of scarlet materialized around Krysis, blocking his body from any further attacks.

Gogeta hovered nearby keeping a careful eye on his opponent. The experiences he had inherited from both Goku and Vegeta told him that Krysis was planning something. Mindful of his time limit, Gogeta quickly thought of a plan, using Vegeta's tactical mind and Goku's quick thinking together.

Two large claw-like appendages emerged from Krysis' aura and fired a pair of red glowing energy blasts at the fused warrior.

Gogeta easily dodged both attacks and then flew towards his opponent in order to counter-attack.

On colliding with Krysis' aura Gogeta felt some resistance as he moved his fist closer to the Crimson Tyrant. Krysis seemed genuinely alarmed for a brief moment as Gogeta was on the verge of breaking threw his defense.

Krysis however flew backwards and away from Gogeta, who wasn't about to allow his opponent to escape his wrath.

Gogeta put a great deal more power into his attack this time, flying at Krysis at incredible speed.

Silver energy appeared around Gogeta's left fist, while golden energy appeared around his right. Gogeta easily pierced Krysis' aura this time, yelling as he executed his attack on his opponent.

"Two Beast Fists!" Gogeta yelled as the twin assault of a silver great ape and a powerful golden shenron-like dragon slammed into Krysis.

Krysis yelled as he and the surrounding area exploded in a flash of white light. Gogeta flew back a safe distance and watched not only his handiwork, but for signs of Krysis. The fused warrior knew his opponent would not have been destroyed that easily.

"Come on out Krysis. I know that was not enough to kill someone like you." Gogeta said, crossing his arms in a very Vegeta-like fashion.

Krysis appeared in a flash, a smile on his face.

"Your attack would have killed me, if it weren't for my ultimate defense." Krysis gloated.

"Ultimate defense?" Gogeta asked, trying to get Krysis to talk. If he was to formulate a plan to take down Krysis, he would need more information about him first.

"I'm speaking of my cape. I imagine you thought I wore it for fashion am I correct? Well my cape is no ordinary piece of clothing. It is the Cloak of Orion, the most powerful defensive item in existence." Krysis said with a smirk.

"A fancy name for a rag." Gogeta said, bringing back his right fist.

Krysis dodged each of Gogeta's punches this time. Gogeta found it ironic that he was having trouble hitting someone so much weaker than he was. Krysis in his new form was barely equal to Goku in his Super Saiyan Five form, yet Krysis had so many defenses at his disposal getting a clean hit on him was proving difficult.

Unfused both Goku and Vegeta lacked the speed in order to harm Krysis. While fused Gogeta found Krysis' battle aura able to blunt all but his strongest attacks. Finally, Krysis so-called "Cloak of Orion" was capable of blocking his most powerful techniques.

"_There is no doubt that my Big-Bang Kamehameha won't work at this rate. I really have no choice but to use that technique. Its been so long since I last used it though. Oh well, might as well try at least." _Gogeta thought as he easily avoided a counter-punch from Krysis.

"I bet your punches would feel like a little girl's even if you did manage to hit me." Gogeta said with a very Vegeta-like smirk.

"Your quite the comedian Gogeta. I wonder where you get your sense of humor from, I'll have to kill that person after you de-fuse." Krysis said with a dark tone as he fired a red orb of energy in Gogeta's direction.

Gogeta due to Goku's previous fight with Krysis knew all about Krysis' orb attacks. As such he simply allowed the orb to strike him in the chest.

When the orb harmlessly struck him as expected Gogeta smiled at Krysis yet again.

"That attack the best you can do?" Gogeta said.

Krysis looked like he was beginning to get angry. Anger worked in Gogeta's favor. With Krysis angry all Gogeta needed to do was get him angry enough that he stopped thinking rationally, after which Gogeta could use his technique on Krysis and end the battle.

"I have far more terrifying abilities than I've showed any of you pathetic fools so far." Krysis yelled, his very presence oozing with barely contained rage.

"Let me guess, red balloon animals? Or maybe you will pelt me with scary red roses? I'm sure some might find that terrifying indeed." Gogeta said with a smirk.

"Silence!" Krysis yelled in a demanding tone.

"What's wrong? Am I getting you angry? Well that is too bad isn't it. Maybe you wouldn't be so angry if you weren't a spoiled brat that always gets your way. Maybe you wouldn't have such anger issues if you weren't a homicidal maniac!" Gogeta yelled.

"SHUT UP!" Krysis yelled, moving his right arm forward and pointing his palm at Gogeta.

Immediately Gogeta felt a strong pressure pushing against him. Perhaps if Gogeta were a lesser being he would easily be pushed away, but Gogeta was too strong for such a trick, and easily flew towards a very frustrated looking Krysis.

Gogeta slammed Krysis in the chin with a fierce uppercut. Krysis soared upwards at breakneck speeds. Gogeta appeared behind Krysis and put his arms around the Crimson Tyrant's back, flying both of them into an upside-down position on a collision-coarse with the grass-covered ground below.

Gogeta let go of Krysis right before they both made impact, leaving the Crimson Tyrant slamming into the ground alone.

In a split second after landing on the ground a short distance from the point of impact, Gogeta raised his right arm so that it reached for the stars above, holding out his right palm as tiny pinpricks of light formed into a sphere of rainbow-colored energy.

Right before Krysis got onto his feet Gogeta tossed his attack at the Crimson Tyrant, yelling the name of the attack only as it made impact.

"Stardust Breaker!" Gogeta yelled as Krysis wreathed in agony as the holy attack did its work.

Krysis screamed in pain, white energy emerging from his mouth and eyes as he did so. Krysis entire body seemed to be tearing itself apart, this could not be closer to the truth.

"Last time I used that attack against a demon. The Stardust Breaker could also be called the Soul Punisher, because thats exactly what the technique is designed to do. The more evil the person struck, the more damage the attack does. For someone like you Krysis, I imagine in a few minutes you will be dead." Gogeta said with a serious expression on his face.

Krysis screamed and then hit the grass. His face had a blank expression as he faced upwards towards the night sky.

"I really should have used that against Omega. That would have been quite the light show." Gogeta said quietly to himself as he looked at Krysis.

Despite sensing his power level take a nose-dive after taking the full-force of the Stardust Breaker, Gogeta's fighting instincts told him not to take his eyes off his opponent until he was absolutely certain his opponent was truly dead.

It had been barely five minutes. The fusion would last him at most another twenty-five minutes. Gogeta couldn't help but think how unfair it was that he was granted life only to fight the battles of the warriors that created him. That was the true reason that he had dragged his fight with Omega Shenron out so long. His was a very brief existence. Regardless of the small amount of sorrow in his heart Gogeta knew it would be unfair to the beings who created him even if he did find a way to remain in existence forever.

He was a force of nature, a shooting star. He was a guardian created to protect what the beings who created him found important, a warrior capable of defeating those opponents his creators were too weak to handle themselves.

Stars existed in the sky seemingly forever, but a shooting star only existed a brief moment, but was a true work of art.

Gogeta smiled.

"_If the reason for my existence is solely to destroy evil beings, if my life is to be so brief, than so be it, such is my fate." _Gogeta thought to himself.

When Krysis' eyes opened, red light poring out of his eye sockets, Gogeta's inner peace was shattered.

How could anyone survive the Stardust Breaker? Especially someone so much weaker than him?

Krysis got back to his feet, the red light coming from his eyes disappearing to reveal his normal, orange eyes.

Krysis smiled at Gogeta before speaking.

"Your attack nearly killed me." Krysis said as he dusted off his red cape.

"That was the idea genius." Gogeta said as his mind immediately began calculating a new plan.

"Well if it makes you happy, that hurt like hell. Your beginning to make me very angry. I warned you that I was going to cause this entire planet to be consumed in my rage. You should be trying to prevent that, yet you are doing the opposite..why?" Krysis asked as a semi-transparent red aura materialized around him.

"I apologize, its just that I really like to piss people off, especially jackasses like you." Gogeta said with a Vegeta smirk.

Gogeta saw that Krysis' hands were trembling with rage. Briefly, for only a split second Gogeta saw Krysis hair change and his eyes glow.

"_I must be getting tired or something, I thought I saw him turn into a Super Saiyan for a second there." _Gogeta said

To Gogeta's surprise Krysis' long straight red hair shot upwards again, briefly becoming spiky. Krysis' aura seemed to be changing. It now surrounded him and resembled a red flame.

Gogeta's sharp senses heard someone landing a short distance behind him. Thanks to Gogeta's ability to sense power levels he knew it was Gohan, Bardock and Piccolo who had arrived.

When Gogeta turned his attention back to Krysis, his worst fears had come true. Krysis now stood a changed being. His hair was red and spiky, with a streak of gold running down threw the middle. Krysis' horn now glowed yellow.

"So your able to become a Super Saiyan as well? Your strength has gone up quite abit but I'm afraid your nothing compared to myself." Gogeta said

"I'm not a Super Saiyan, I am a Super Pariahan. My kind are related to you Saiyans, but make no mistake, we are and will always be vastly superior. Your able to assume your transformed states at will. I can only transform in a state of extreme rage. Thank you for getting me angry, I assure you won't like me when I'm angry." Krysis said with a smirk.

"Well incredible hulk, your quite welcome. But I think your forgetting who your up against." Gogeta said with a smirk.

"I wasn't thinking of attacking you." Krysis said before flying towards Gohan, Piccolo and Bardock.

Gogeta managed to fly in front of the crazed Pariahan and landed a solid punch with his left hand to Krysis' face, an act which caused the Crimson Tyrant to crash into the ground yet again.

Krysis quickly got on his feet and looked around, his eyes shining a dark red.

"Kill Kill Kill KILLL KILLLLLLL!" Krysis chanted as nearby rocks flew upward off the ground, only to be destroyed by the appearance of the crackling red lightning that surrounded Krysis.

"I hate to sound rude guys, but you really should leave this to me." Gogeta yelled as he flew at Krysis, intercepting him yet again by flying directly into him with a painful headbutt before the Pariahan could touch his friends.

"_That is why I fight isn't it? These people mean so much to Goku and Vegeta. Those feelings and emotions they have for their family and friends I share. But why do I share them? Am I not a different person than either Goku or Vegeta? If I merely exist because their minds created mine, is it accurate to say that I am a person?" Gogeta's _thoughts raged as he blocked a series of enraged punches from Krysis, who had switched his target to him as the object of his anger.

Krysis laughed a psychotic laugh as he formed a red ball of crackling energy in his right hand.

"Oh no you don't!" Gogeta said seconds before slamming Krysis in the face with a roundhouse kick which knocked Krysis backwards.

Gohan spoke to his grandfather and first teacher as Gogeta and Krysis exchanged blows.

"Gogeta is so powerful now, but I'm worried." Gohan said.

"You sense it too, don't you kid?" Piccolo asked his first friend with a smile.

"Yeah, Krysis' power is going up fast. If it keeps growing he will be even with Gogeta in two minutes." Gohan said

"The problem is Krysis' rage. I think if he calms down he may lose these increased powers." Piccolo said, his gold cape flapping with the sudden gust of wind that blew threw the area.

"There is no guarantee that will work. Remember Krysis said he needed extreme anger to become a Super Pariahan or whatever he called it. That does not mean if he calms down he will lose that power. Remember we only transform back to normal if we wish to, or we fall unconscious Gohan." Bardock said with a worried tone.

"So you think Krysis will just keep getting stronger, and he can maintain his transformation as long as he wants?" Gohan asked.

"Honestly I don't know Gohan. But I have a feeling that unless Krysis either wills himself back to normal he is going to stay that way." Bardock said.

Nearby Gogeta was noticing the increased strength of Krysis' punches. When they started fighting, Krysis' punches felt like feathers to him. Now they felt like pillows. While that didn't pose a threat to Gogeta, the fused warrior knew that Krysis was growing in power.

Gogeta slammed his right fist up at Krysis and knocked him square in the jaw with an uppercut. In only seconds Krysis had recovered and resumed striking at Gogeta with a barrage of punches.

"_I have to end this quick. In a minute or two he will actually be able to hurt me, nevermind Gohan or the others. Desperate times call for desperate measures." _Gogeta thought as he blocked punch after punch from a still enraged Krysis.

"I will kill you. Kill you kill you!" Krysis snarled.

"Yeah you do that." Gogeta said before turning around and quickly rocketing backwards, putting some distance between himself and Krysis.

As Krysis flew towards him Gogeta formed a sphere of crackling blue energy in both of his hands, then quickly forced the orbs together which caused them to turn into a larger sphere of energy.

"Hyper Kamehameha!" Gogeta yelled before firing a blue beam of enormous power and energy in Krysis direction.

The beam overtook Krysis, leaving a trail of blue flames burning in midair as it made its way to the enraged Pariahan.

Krysis was utterly consumed by the blast, which quickly flew upwards into the sky and out of the Earth's atmosphere.

Gohan looked on and smiled.

"It looks like Gogeta did it. I don't sense Krysis anymore." Gohan said with a happy tone.

"He's not dead." Bardock said, pointing into the air.

Gogeta looked upwards and saw Krysis. Krysis had two fingers on his forehead and a crazed look on his face.

"Oh come on. You've got to be kidding me." Gogeta said as he felt a growing feeling of frustration.

Krysis flew down until he was at eye-level with Gogeta, looking at the taller man with a smile. The smile was not a friendly one.

"Kill..Kill..Kill..Kill..KILL!" Krysis yelled with a smile.

Gogeta let loose and began slamming Krysis with punch after punch.

"Why won't you just die?" Gogeta said, beginning to lose his temper.

Suddenly Krysis fired a red blast of energy from his right hand at Gogeta. Gogeta's eyes lit up in shock as he was sent nearly to the other side of the planet from the sheer force of the blast.

"I won't die because I'm far too important you simpleton." Krysis said before laughing to himself.

Turning around, Krysis looked at Bardock, Gohan and Piccolo and smiled.

"Now where was I? Oh yes..kill..kill..kill!" Krysis said before flying towards the small group of Z-Fighters.

Gohan and the others noticed Krysis immediately.

"Incoming!" Gohan yelled.

A split second before Gohan finished talking Krysis grabbed Gohan by the throat and lift him so that his feet were off the ground.

"Gohan!" Piccolo yelled in concern.

"Let me go you monster!" Gohan said, struggling against the strong grip of the Super Pariahan.

"Monster? Can't you people be more creative with your insults?" Krysis asked.

"So sorry to disappoint you your highness." Bardock said dryly.

"Gohan, don't you think your mother and daughter are worried sick about you? I imagine poor Chi-Chi is sobbing herself to death over you. Don't you think your being selfish?" Krysis asked.

"Two Beasts Fist!" Gogeta said, slamming Krysis unexpectedly with his strongest melee attack.

Krysis didn't flinch. He turned his head slightly, as if to acknowledge Gogeta's presence.

"Oh its you again. I know part of you is Goku. Are you not the least bit concerned that I'm about to kill your last remaining son?" Krysis asked, fighting the urge to grin as thoughts of murder and death consumed his mind.

"If you kill him, you will only have yourself to blame for what happens after." Gogeta said darkly.

"Oh really? Lets test that theory out shall we?" Krysis said as he tossed Gohan high into the air.

Gohan tried to fly away, do anything, but strangely he felt his body paralyzed.

"I'm warning you Krysis." Gogeta said.

Krysis fired a red beam of energy at Gohan. To everyone's surprise Bardock flew in front of the blast.

"Bardock no!" Gogeta said in alarm.

Bardock put a hand on Gohan's shoulder as the blast was nearly upon them. The two disappeared in a flash and Krysis' blast soared into space harmlessly.

"Alright that is cheating! Nobody is allowed to stop me when I'm killing one of my victims!" Krysis said.

"This isn't a game Krysis." Piccolo said

"Oh I think it is. I'm the big bad villain here to conquer and destroy, and you guys and your friends are the self-righteous heroes trying to stop me. Normally the rules state that you guys win in the end, but I'm here to change that." Krysis said as lighting danced across his form.

"I'm tired of you and your sadism." Gogeta said

"Oh? And what are you going to do about it? My power has peaked, but I'm still stronger than you now Gogeta." Krysis said with a smile.

"That is where your wrong." Gogeta said as a rainbow-colored orb materialized in his right hand.

"Masenko!" Piccolo yelled as he fired an energy blast at Krysis.

Distracted by Piccolo's attack for a split second, Krysis was unprepared as Gogeta struck Krysis with yet another Stardust Breaker.

As Krysis screamed in terrible pain, Gogeta intended on making sure Krysis was dead this time, and yelled as he used his next attack.

"Two Beast Fists!" Gogeta yelled as the roar of a silver Great Ape accompanied the strike of his left hand against Krysis, while the roar of a golden dragon accompanied the strike of his right hand.

An enormous explosion followed Gogeta's attack. Gogeta and Piccolo flew out of the blast radius, landing a short distance away.

As the two warriors landed Gogeta suddenly felt his vision blurring. He looked at Piccolo and saw double.

Suddenly Gogeta disappeared in a puff of smoke, to be replaced by Goku and Vegeta, both still in Super Saiyan Five form.

"Did we kill him this time?" Goku asked.

"Tick tock, your time is up Saiyans." A familiar voice said from nearby.

Goku, Vegeta and Piccolo turned around to see a badly injured Krysis. He seemed to have reverted back to his normal second form state. His organic left arm hung useless at his side, broken and bloody. Krysis lip was bloody as well.

"Is the word death in your vocabulary?" Vegeta said in a frustrated tone.

"Yes, but I don't die so easily. You are probably wondering how I survived Gogeta's relentless chain of attacks aren't you?" Krysis asked.

"The Cloak of Orion?" Vegeta guessed with a dry tone.

"Bingo! Get this gentlemen a prize!" Krysis said, imitating a television game show host.

"I guess this is it then. An unstoppable enemy with an unbeatable defense. I never thought I'd say it Kakarot, but we can't beat that." Vegeta said, clutching his fists in frustration.

"Where there's a will, there's a way." Goku said with a smile.

Piccolo smiled at Goku's resolve.

"You hear that Krysis, we aren't giving up. We will find a way to defeat you." Piccolo said with a smile.

"You may, and you may not, I don't really care. You stopped my plan to bring my armies here, and now I am badly injured. If I continue to fight you in my current condition I will die. Well done Z-Fighters." Krysis said with a smile and a mock thumbs-up.

Vegeta powered up.

"You heard him Kakarot, lets hit him now while we have the chance!" Vegeta said

"Not so fast oh prince of the monkeys. Did you fools really think I planned on fighting you all to the death if my plans failed? All this carnage was for one purpose and one purpose only. I needed to generate the necessary energy in order to bring my trump card to this universe, and you fools played right into my hands." Krysis said before erupting in another fit of psychotic-sounding laughter.

Before anyone could respond, Krysis suddenly flew off like a red comet.

"We should follow him." Goku said, Piccolo and Vegeta both nodding in agreement.

Krysis was hovering over the ocean. With a look of strain on his face Krysis held out his metal right hand. A maelstrom suddenly appeared in the sea.

As Vegeta, Goku and Piccolo appeared via Instant Transmission, they arrived just as a colossal black object began to emerge from the ocean.

It was sphere-shaped, with a spire-like tower on top and a ring around the center. The object was easily the size of a large city.

Bardock suddenly appeared with Gohan and Time Guardian Trunks, once again clad in his golden vest and white pants, wielding the legendary sword, excalibur.

"Oh no we are too late." Trunks said with a tone suggesting grave concern.

"Where have you been?" Vegeta asked, looking at his son.

"The Royal Military's best scientists and mother were doing research on my sword, er swords. I'm sorry if I worried you, but both Trunks knew that they were useless in this battle separated." Trunks said.

"Is the war still raging between the royal military and the vanguard or whatever they call themselves?" Gohan asked.

"Nevermind that, what is that...that thing?" Vegeta asked.

Trunks looked over at the huge black structure rising from the ocean.

"Its the time fortress. I was afraid of this. But why bring it here?" Trunks said

"Why indeed?" Krysis said as the Time Fortress fully materialized, floating high above the ocean.

"Let me just say that this mighty citadel is the key to accomplishing all of my objectives. Oh and before I go. Don't bother trying to destroy it. The Time Fortress was built by beings far greater and more powerful than us mortals." Krysis said seconds before a blue beam of energy emerged from the very top of the spire and struck Krysis, apparently teleporting the Crimson Tyrant to the very top of the structure.

"He is right, we can't destroy the Time Fortress, our best bet is to go inside." Trunks suggested.

"I guess we follow you then?" Bardock asked.

Trunks flew down to the middle of the colossal structure, pressed his right hand against the black surface. Suddenly a door appeared.

"We are lucky the layout of the fortress has not changed." Trunks said.

As one five of the six Z-Fighters flew down and entered the door. Goku, now in his normal form turned and looked at his father, who was still hovering outside.

"Father aren't you coming with us?" Goku asked.

"I'm sorry my son, but there is something important I must do." Bardock said

"I understand. Whatever it is you need to do, good luck alright?" Goku said

Bardock smiled proudly at his son, and gave him a quick thumbs-up

Goku turned back towards the dark entryway, then looked backwards again, only to see his father was gone.

Minutes later Trunks and the others entered a large room with a great doorway.

"This place looks pretty banged up. Its also a bit..black." Goku remarked as he looked around the large chamber.

"Krysis must have done this, when I served here as a Guardian the halls were a pristine white, and the doors were made of solid gold. Krysis has defiled it." Trunks said with a hint of sadness.

"I'm guessing we have to go threw that door to get up to where Krysis is?" Piccolo asked.

"Yes, These doors were once the main entryway into the Fortress. Past the doors is a series of halls that acted as a maze for intruders. I know the way threw the maze though, so don't worry." Trunks said.

"I wonder what Krysis is trying to do. In his first form he seemed sane, and had logical goals. We destroyed the portals, and he was not happy. Now it seems he has a few screws lose or something." Piccolo said.

"When the Time Guardians fought Krysis he was always in his first form, wearing that strange mask. This new form Krysis has taken is as new to me as it is to you guys. Even when I fought Krysis in that future earth and cut off his arm he remained in his first form. But even when we first encountered Krysis he seemed different from when I last fought him." Trunks said with a thoughtful tone.

"So how do we get in?" Gohan asked.

"We could try instant transmission maybe?" Goku suggested.

"Techniques like that won't work here. Trust me when I say our only way up to the top is threw here." Trunks said before approaching the doorway.

Trunks silently pressed with all his might against the blackened doors, which opened with the loud sound of creaking metal.

All five Z-Fighters then silently entered the dark halls beyond the doorway. All of them ran quickly threw the pitch black halls of the defiled Time Fortress. Once this grand structure had been a bastion of good and a headquarters where millions of warriors made their home, during the era when the Time Guardians protected the sacred timelines. Now it was a pale shadow of what it once was, a black testament to the power of Krysis.

Trunks noticed a chamber up ahead. The former Time Guardian tried to remember something, anything about the layout of the massive structure.

From what he could tell, the door ahead lead to the fortresses's vast dungeon complex, a place where all the enemies of the Time Guardians had been locked away.

"Guys right ahead of us is the dungeons." Trunks said as the four approached a door, each of them stopping in front of it.

"Trunks are you sure we are going the right way? Will this lead us to wherever Krysis is?" Piccolo asked with a serious tone.

"I'm positive. Past the dungeons we should find a transporter, I should be able to get us to where Krysis is located from there." Trunks said.

"Now if Kakorot or Piccolo could just use Instant Transmission that wouldn't be a problem." Vegeta said with a smirk.

Goku silently attempted to use the technique, but as he thought, the instant transmission failed to work.

The other Z-Fighters ignored Vegeta as Trunks pushed open the large black doors, after which the four entered the dungeon itself. Far ahead was a great hallway of round chambers, each empty of whatever prisoners they once contained.

"I wonder where the inmates ended up?" Goku asked, looking around.

"They must have been freed by Krysis sometime during or after the battle for control of the fortress." Trunks suggested.

"I'm sensing someone in one of these cells." Piccolo said.

"Following you Piccolo." Goku said happily, to which Vegeta reacted by rolling his eyes.

The four came to a cell which was identical to all the others, except it contained a bed, a shelf full of books, and a white cube shaped table. The room also contained an inmate.

The inmate was leaning against the wall. In appearance the inmate appeared to be a youth, perhaps seventeen or eighteen years in age. He had spiky deep blue colored hair, tan skin with a white, unicorn like horn on his forehead, and a young but handsome face. The youth was lightly muscled, and wore only white pants, a blue colored belt and black colored boots for clothing.

Besides his appearance, it was the energy coming from this youth that got the Z-fighter's attention.

"You guys sensing what I'm sensing?" Vegeta asked.

"If it is that this guy's energy feels like Krysis, but good instead of evil, then yes father." Trunks said.

"That is because spiritually speaking, I am Krysis." The youth said in a voice that sounded exactly like Krysis, young and confident.

"Is this a clone we are looking at?" Vegeta asked.

"No, I think this kid and Krysis were once one being." Piccolo said, realization hitting him.

"You don't mean like Maijin Buu or Kami do you Piccolo?" Goku asked.

"That is exactly what I mean." Piccolo said, his usual serious expression on his green face.

The youth looked over at the group of warriors and smiled. His smile seemed kind, yet sad.

"I was once a part of Krysis, in what seems like an eternity ago. You could say I once kept Krysis darker impulses and desires in check. I was apart of him until his defeat at your hands Trunks." The youth said.

"What happened?" Gohan asked with a voice filled with curiosity.

The youth nodded and continued his story.

"When he left the timeline containing his empire, he first came here. He thought that his heart, his love, his sorrow, his guilt, was what had held him back and caused him to lose to you Trunks. He was so angry he was willing to part with all his redeeming qualities, all the goodness in his soul." The youth said with sadness in his voice.

"Similar to when Kami separated from his evil half, my father, only the entire situation is the total opposite. Do you have a name kid?" Piccolo asked the youth with a smile. This boy was a kindred sprit, that much Piccolo knew to be true. His origin and existence were very similar to his own early life.

"Zenjin is the word I go by. Before you ask, I have no idea how long I've been down here. Krysis used a technique to split his soul into equal parts good and evil shortly after returning here. I was born of the good half as you are well aware, and as soon as I came into my own separate existence I was taken by Krysis minions and placed in this already prepared cell." Zenjin said, still not moving from his position against the wall of his cell.

"So if Krysis split his soul in half, he must have cut his power in half as well." Vegeta said, crossing his arms.

"That was true at first. When we first separated Krysis took on an almost wraith-like form. He was at less than half his full fighting strength. I believe he intended on using a time guardian's DNA in order to regenerate his physical form. Since you five are here, I'm assuming he used Trunks and the only question left in my mind is the reason he has returned here." Zenjin said.

"We managed to badly weaken him in our last battle. When we had him against the ropes he traveled to the ocean, and then summoned the Time Fortress to our universe. But we have no idea why." Trunks asked.

"If he has come here again that means he believes there is no other way for him to find what he is looking for." Zenjin said.

"What is he looking for exactly?" Piccolo asked.

"The regalia of Orion. When he separated from me he already had found the Cloak of Orion. I'm sure if you fought him he protected himself with it in battle." Zenjin said.

"Yes, that cloak was the only thing that saved him from destruction many times when we last fought him." Goku said, thinking back to Gogeta's battle with Krysis a short time ago.

"The cloak of orion protects the wearer from any attack that would otherwise kill the person wearing it. It is a very strong defensive item of great magical power, but it is only one of three items in the regalia itself. Krysis has been searching for all three since we left the new Pariahan homeworld. He ignored me when I suggested we accept the new Pariahan way of life and live a life of peace, he was willing to walk away from his loved ones, his people, he felt so strongly about finding the Regalia." Zenjin said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"You almost sound like Krysis original intentions were noble." Trunks remarked.

"They were. But as Krysis searched the universe, my influence over him decreased, and my counterpart Akugai's increased. Eventually Krysis became dominated by the evil part of his soul, and Akugai's hold over him was nearly absolute. That was when he conquered the Earth in one timeline, and forced the people of the planet to help him in his search for the Regalia." Zenjin said.

"So the name of Krysis' evil half was Akugai? Does that make Akugai Krysis true name since you and him are separate?" Trunks asked.

"No, he is Krysis. I will tell you what I know of the person he is now. But I have to begin with the composition of a mortal soul." Zenjin said, leaving his position against the wall and walking over to stand close to his side of the forcefield.

"I have a feeling this is going to be deep." Goku said, Gohan nodding in silent agreement with his father.

"A mortal soul, at least a normal one, is composed of three parts. There is the Good and Evil parts of a mortal soul, and depending on the person the strength of those two parts on the whole may differ." Zenjin said, looking at his audience to make sure they understood.

When Zenjin was satisfied that the Z-Fighters understood, he decided to continue his explanation.

"The third part of a mortal soul is called a sprit. A mortal sprit of a living mortal is neither good nor evil, it contains the memories and spark of existence of a soul, and the instincts of the mortal. When a mortal dies, whichever is the bigger part of a sprit's living existence becomes the nature of the spirit when it passes onto the afterlife. After death a sprit usually becomes permanently either Good or Evil. If the sprit is dominated by a balance between good and evil than usually that person is returned to life, sometimes by reincarnation. Neutral mortals are very rare however." Zenjin explained, pausing only to make certain that his audience was paying attention. Sure enough, they were.

"So Vegeta would have been reincarnated after he died fighting Maijin Buu?" Piccolo asked.

"That is not a pleasant thought." Vegeta said, imagining himself reborn as a human or worse.

"Vegeta was a being of Good when he made that sacrifice. The battle between good and evil within him was over, with good as the victor. If your wondering how I'd know that, Pariahans are a telepathic race, our horns allow us to read the minds of those nearby." Zenjin said.

"Enough about me, what about Krysis. I think it is important we hear what you have to say, one important principle of battle has always been know your enemy." Vegeta said.

"Krysis as he exists now is composed of his sprit, as well as the evil portion of his soul. He exists now without the good half, and as a result all the restraint he had when I was a part of Krysis is now gone. He only exists now for his own goals, which have always been to find the Regalia of Orion. If he finds the Sword of Orion or the Armor of Orion than there is no possible way you will ever defeat him." Zenjin said.

"What exactly is the Regalia. We have seen the Cloak and what it is capable of, and you have told us of the other parts, but where did such powerful items come from? And what is the sword and armor capable of." Piccolo asked.

"You have not heard of the legend of Orion?" Zenjin asked, a look of surprise on his young face.

"I haven't no." Vegeta said, looking at both Goku and Piccolo who shook their heads from side to side.

"I have." Trunks said suddenly, causing the other Z-Fighters to turn towards the last of the time guardians.

"It was said Orion was the strongest mortal warrior in all the timelines. With his cloak, not even the strongest attacks of the greatest of demons or angels could harm him. With his armor, his power and fighting capabilities were doubled. With his sword it was said Orion could defeat nearly any foe with one blow. Eventually the legends tell that after centuries of battle against hundreds of powerful opponents, he met defeat to the one thing that eventually claims all mortals." Trunks said.

"Death." Piccolo said after a brief moment of thought.

"Trunks is correct. Orion was possibly the greatest mortal warrior that ever lived. But threw out his long life and constant battles he came to forget he was only mortal. After his death, his friends and remaining enemies fought over the regalia he left behind, until it is said a powerful celestial being appeared and took the regalia, scattering the cloak, the sword and the armor across the various universes to prevent another mortal or worse, an immortal being from ever claiming all three sections of the regalia." Zenjin said.

"That explains why Krysis returned here. The timelines have collapsed, time itself has become a straight stream leading from past, to present, to future. That is why the power to actually alter the past and change to future is now possible. The time fortress is the one place where one can locate nearly anything in the universe. It is the ultimate time machine." Trunks said.

"I assure you, the only reason Krysis would bring the Time Fortress to the physical universe is if he knew the regalia was hidden somewhere in this universe' timeline. If you hope to stop him, go now and do so." Zenjin said.

"What about you? We can't just leave you here." Goku said.

"If you deactivate the force field, I'll come with you and show you the way to Krysis. But hurry." Zenjin said.

Trunks searched the wall to the right of the cell. Sure enough his memories of the Time Fortress were still reliable, as Trunks found a control panel containing buttons engraved with weird, alien looking writing. Trunks quickly pushed a series of symbols on the control panel, and the nearby forcefield shimmered for a second, and then faded completely.

Zenjin walked out of the cell and stretched his arms upward.

"After ten thousand of your years, I'm finally out of that infernal cell." Zenjin said with relief in his voice.

"I'm happy for you, don't get me wrong Zenjin, but we really should hurry and find Krysis." Piccolo remarked.

"Of coarse, follow me." Zenjin said as he ran down the corridor with a smile on his face and took a left.

"Somebody looks happy." Goku said, amused at Zenjin's cheerfulness as the four Z-Fighters quickly followed him down the corridor.

"Well Kakarot, if you were imprisoned for ten thousand years, wouldn't you be happy?" Vegeta said with a smirk on his face.

"I guess I would be." Goku said, smiling back at his friend.

In front of the seven was a large round room with a blue ceiling and floor. A control console lay in the center of the room. The console had buttons of various colors, with more of the same alien looking writing engraved on each button.

"Brace yourselves." Trunks said as the group entered the room.

Trunks began pressing a series of buttons.

"If Trunks remembers how to work that console we will be face to face with Krysis shortly." Zenjin said.

"That is not a pleasant thought." Piccolo said.

"Zenjin, just curious and I don't mean to sound rude or anything but how do you feel about seeing your other half again?" Gohan asked.

"I'm not looking forward to it if thats what your asking. I may be the good portion of his soul, but that does not change the fact that Krysis abandoned me. From my point of view he got rid of me because he thought I was a burden." Zenjin said with the slight hint of anger in his voice.

"Sort of like when you ignore your conscious." Vegeta said thoughtfully.

"Exactly. Enough about me though. Goku, you seem troubled by something. Is there anything I can do to help you?" Zenjin asked.

"Its my father. He did not come with us when we entered the fortress. He said something about "having something important to do." Goku said

"Do not be troubled Goku, your Father will be ok. There is something much bigger than all of us going on. I do not know what exactly, all I can say is that he will be fine." Zenjin said kindly, yet cryptically.

Bardock floated threw a void of stars. He did not remember how he came to be in this place, nor why he came here.

A great planet appeared in front of him. It was covered in blue sand. Clocks of various sizes were the only objects on the planet as far as Bardock could tell.

Landing on the strange world, Bardock looked around. Suddenly he felt a presence staring at him. It was a familiar presence, one he had felt in past visions.

Bardock turned to see a figure shrouded in darkness high on a nearby hill of sand.

As Bardock looked at the figure, the darkness obscuring the figure faded away, disappearing like a morning fog. The figure looked human. His skin was as pale white as the almost skeletal horse he rode upon. He wore dark armor decorated with white skulls on the shoulder and chest area. The figure's face could be described as handsome. Six black bird-like wings lay on the figure's back. In the figure's hands was a scythe.

Bardock finally could see the face of the one who kept tormenting him in so many visions.

"So we meet again. Just who are you?" Bardock asked, a growing feeling of unease building in his heart.

"I answer to many names. Death, Thanatos, the Grim Reaper, those are but a few of the many names mortals have given me over the eons. However, you may call me Azrael." As Azrael said his name thunder could be heard.

...

_Greetings readers! The plot thickens! I'll let you all guess what is going to happen next. I just wanted to leave a note here saying that fellow author JTX(if you have not read his Dragonball AF stories than I highly recommend them), is the guy who gave me the idea for Gogeta being introspective and thinking of his own existence. Before I read his Gogeta Vs. Chronus fight I actually really never gave much thought to fusion characters thinking about their own lives. I thought it was a good concept to explore, even if its just alittle bit. _

_Until next time!_


	19. Completion of the Cycle

Krysis walked slowly over the great wooden bridge separating the rest of the mountain valley from the temple ahead. After years of searching he had found the location of the Sword of Orion, a weapon capable of defeating any adversary in one attack.

As Krysis steadily advanced across the bridge a distant memory surfaced. In a time that seemed like so long ago, before he had divided his own soul, Krysis remembered crossing another bridge like this one. He came to the palace on the new Pariahan homeworld, asking his father, the King, for permission to marry.

He had been so foolish, so naive then. He could not see that the girl he loved was holding him back. But he had been happy. Never since that time had he known such joy. When a Saiyan warrior tracked down the Pariahans and killed her, never before or since then had he known such sorrow.

When his own family refused to retaliate, stating such nonsense as revenge only leads to further hatred and violence, he had spoke out. Punishing his grief and rage, his people had exiled him.

It took him years of wandering across the cosmos, but Krysis now believed he had a clear purpose to his existence. The Pariahan people had always been a race of conquerors, only in recent times had they turned their collective backs on their heritage as a people.

Krysis mind snapped back to the present as he stepped off the bridge and onto the hard rocky soil of the island. In front of him was a red torii, with pink cherry trees on either side of a stone walkway leading to a tall, blue pagoda. Numerous male red robed monks of various ages tended to various tasks. Unlike many monks, these seemed to wear their black hair long and in various styles. What drew Krysis' attention about the monks was not their clothing or hair style however, but the sword shaped tattoo on the monk's foreheads.

Krysis stepped over past the torii and onto the temple grounds. Immediately the monks turned their attention towards him, looks of disapproval on their faces.

A couple of monks armed with some kind of spear stepped in front of him.

"I'm in a pleasant mood right now gentlemen, I suggest you let me pass." Krysis said in a dark tone.

"Your soul is out of balance." An older monk said from behind the two spear-wielders.

Krysis chuckled softly to himself at the monk's words.

"Can we get a medal here for captain obvious?" Krysis said.

"You find my words funny profane one? I just gave you a warning. Turn back, the sword will not accept anyone such as you." The old monk said.

"We shall see about that." Krysis said with a smirk as he silently walked forward, an action to which the monks responded by attacking him.

In one swift motion Krysis blasted both incoming spear-wielders into dust, then slowly continued his march towards the blue pagoda.

"We will not allow you to defile this sacred ground!" The old monk said as several other monks landed, all with white orbs of energy in their palms.

It took almost all of Krysis' willpower to keep him from toying sadistically with the monks. Krysis had found that the more time he spent separated from his better half, the more unstable his mind was becoming. Reducing his power with the mask had bought him some time, but that time would soon end. It was ironic then that Krysis may need his good counterpart, when in the past he thought getting rid of him would make him stronger.

Krysis ignored the monks as they fired weak energy blasts at him, or assaulted him with various martial arts techniques as he walked boldly into the temple, using his mind to force aside the doors blocking his path.

In front of Krysis was what he had come here for, the gleaming golden blade known only as the Sword of Orion. The sword hovered off the ground, suspended in midair by a field of rippling, golden energy.

The old monk spoke from behind Krysis, warning him one final time.

"If you attempt to claim the sword while out of balance, woe shall befall you." The old man said.

"Thank you for the warning, but I think I'll take my chances." Krysis said, reaching out to claim the sword.

As soon as Krysis touched the energy field, the image of a giant, red armored warrior appeared in front of him and spoke.

"You who are without balance shall never claim this sword." The warrior said.

Krysis was thrown backwards out of the temple and near the bridge.

Krysis pushed himself back to his feet.

"It would seem I have no choice then." Krysis said with a disappointed tone. Using his instant tranmission, Krysis returned to the Time Fortress, appearing in what was once the command chamber of the guardians.

The Z-Fighters arrived in a hallway shortly after. Trunks immediately recognized where they were.

"This was the grand hall that lead to the Time Fortress command chamber. I walked threw this room so many times on my way to mission briefings, there is no mistaking it. If Krysis is here, he is in the command chamber." Trunks said

"Be careful, I don't think I have to say that finding Krysis is just the beginning." Piccolo warned.

"Whatever he has in store for us let us face it as warriors." Vegeta said solemnly as he opened the blackened doors leading into the command chamber.

The group walked into the large chamber, seeing a large room with black walls, a black floor, and a black ceiling. At the far end of the room Krysis stood waiting for them, looking out a large transparent wall. The Earth could be seen below. Apparently the Time Fortress was now in orbit around the Earth.

As soon as Krysis saw the Z-Fighters, they immediately heard the sound of clapping as the Crimson Tyrant mock applauded their efforts.

"Well done my friends. I knew you'd find your way up here to me. I also see you brought my better half here with you. How convenient." Krysis said with a smile.

"It is over Krysis, all the innocent people you have killed in your mad quest for power will be avenged today!" Goku said.

Krysis stared at Goku. The saiyan hero met Krysis' dark gaze without flinching.

"Why do you protect the humans and other riff-raff of Earth?" Krysis asked with a slight smile on his face.

"Because it is the right thing to do. They are innocent people with as much right to live as we do. But I don't expect someone like you to understand that." Goku responded with a voice full of conviction.

"When the innocent people you hold so dear feel fear you would be surprised at how few of them stick to principles, how many of them would sell out their own family just to survive. Krysis said, a wide grin suddenly on his face before he spoke again.

"And you want to know why that is? Its quite simple. The basic nature of humanity is one of selfishness. Why I imagine that most of them only care for others because it helps them in some way, not because they actually really love other people. You committed genocide on many different races Vegeta, out of all of them wouldn't you say humanity deserves genocide the most?" Krysis asked with a smile as his gaze fell on the Saiyan Prince.

"There is no mortal race in the universe that is perfect. To answer your question, no race deserves genocide." Vegeta said.

"If you say so. I think you would see things my way if only you had to rule those people for an extended length of time. But then again, your not me." Krysis said.

"Your mind games won't work Krysis. Nice try though." Gohan said with a serious expression on his face.

"I do so enjoy tormenting you all, but since your not in the mood to play, I guess I'll just get serious than." Krysis said with a tone of disappointment.

Krysis looked down at the floor for a brief moment, than back towards Goku.

"I'm afraid if you came here to stop me from finding the Regalia, your too late. The sword is as good as mine." Krysis said without a hint of emotion in his voice.

Zenjin stepped forward, the blue haired youth immediately engaging in a staring contest with Krysis.

"But your unable to claim it aren't you? Yes your mind is an open book to me. You cannot use the sword because your soul is out of balance." Zenjin said.

"Your supposed to be my better half right? Well did you not know that reading the minds of others without permission is considered rude?" Krysis responded.

"I think I know what your planning. You hope to re-absorb me in order to use the Sword of Orion don't you? Well I'm not exactly a weakling, so don't expect me to go willingly." Zenjin said with a tone of defiance.

"You assume you have a choice in the matter." Krysis said coldly.

Without warning Zenjin fired a blue blast of energy in Krysis' direction, an attack which was easily blocked by Krysis' cape.

Piccolo immediately had a sense of deja-vu. Krysis hoped to re-incorporate Zenjin into his being. If that happened his power would grow to astronomical levels, and that would be without the complete regalia.

Piccolo immediately rushed forward, throwing aside his turban and cape which created two dents in the left wall of the room as he joined Zenjin in battle against Krysis.

Zenjin struck Krysis in the jaw with a well-placed uppercut. Following up on Zenjin's attack, Piccolo slammed Krysis in the chest with a hard right punch, sending the Crimson Tyrant slamming into the black floor.

"You guys can jump in anytime now!" Piccolo said.

Gohan flew forward, intending on assisting his first teacher, only to collide with Piccolo when Krysis used his mental powers to send the Namekian warrior in his direction.

"I'm really not in the mood for games right now, so be polite and just stay out of my way." Krysis said darkly, then turned his orange gaze on Zenjin.

Zenjin fired another blue energy blast at Krysis, which he also easily managed to block.

"You seemed so sad when I cast you aside, and now your saying you don't want to recombine? I'm hurt." Krysis said.

Zenjin ignored Krysis and continued firing blasts of energy in a vain attempt at harming him.

Goku knew he had to do something.

"_Zenjin is powerful, but Krysis is immune to all our attacks because of that blasted cloak. At this rate Krysis will wear Zenjin down, and after that absorb him somehow. I can't let that happen!" _Goku thought.

Goku rushed forward and slammed his right fist into the left side of Krysis' face, yelling "Dragon Fist!" as he did so. Krysis was knocked into the transparent wall, and seemed pinned down.

Seeing an opening, Vegeta fired a green Final Shine directly into Krysis' chest. Krysis yelled in agony as the attack struck true.

Gohan fired a yellow Masenko at Krysis shortly after Vegeta's attack landed while Piccolo charged his Sacred Beam Cannon, sending the holy white spiral beam into Krysis' chest and out the other side, piercing what Piccolo assumed was Krysis' heart.

Krysis spat up blood, but despite his agony and fatal injury, he managed a smile before closing his eyes.

"It is over Krysis. It looks like you underestimated your enemy yet again. Now that your at death's door do you have any last words?" Zenjin asked, staring at his counterpart.

"You realize I killed King Yemma as well as the Grand Supreme Kai correct? Even if I die otherworld is in so much chaos that it will make no difference if I'm alive or dead." Krysis said before coughing up yet more blood.

"You planned that far ahead?" Zenjin said, a horrible feeling growing at the pit of his stomach.

"Of coarse. I knew that this might happen, so I planned accordingly. With nobody running the check-in station if I were to die I could simply use Instant Transmission to return to the world of the living and pick up right where I left off. There is nothing any of you can do to stop me." Krysis said weakly.

"There is one thing." Zenjin said as he sat down and crossed his legs in a meditative pose.

"You should realize that if my will is able to overpower yours, it will be me that absorbs you using that technique. So much is at stake you can almost feel the pressure!" Krysis gloated weakly.

"Zenjin are you sure that is wise?" Piccolo asked

"It is our one chance to defeat him." Zenjin said flatly.

"No, I think that is what he wants us to think. Don't you think it is strange that he put up such a pathetic fight during that entire brief battle? This is obviously a trap." Vegeta said, narrowing his eyes at the dying Krysis and the puddle of blood at his feet.

"Vegeta, so tactical. I always was impressed by your ability to think strategically. Consider this however. Whether or not this is a trap matters little, because the Soul Joining technique really is your only option unless you want to see me again a few minutes after I kick the bucket." Krysis said weakly.

"We cannot miss this opportunity." Trunks said.

Zenjin nodded silently and then closed his eyes as a flame-like aura of blue enveloped him.

Krysis smiled weakly as he opened his swollen right eye just enough to see his counterpart begin the Soul Joining.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Piccolo said.

Vegeta pointed his right hand at Krysis. At the slightest sign of trickery Vegeta was prepared to blast Krysis into oblivion. If he did indeed come back from otherworld, defeating him again would spell a permanent defeat for Krysis.

The blue aura surrounding Zenjin flew threw the air, expanding to encircle the dying form of Krysis.

"Now Krysis, you will exist as the dark part of my own soul. Forever will I be burdened by your existence, but the burden is mine alone to bare. Never again will you kill or threaten another living thing." Zenjin said calmly.

Krysis began to shimmer in and out of existence. The Crimson Tyrant closed his eyes and looked suddenly peaceful.

"So far so good." Goku said.

Suddenly Zenjin's face twisted as though he were in some horrible struggle.

The horrible feeling Trunks had got worse when he saw the blue aura surrounding Krysis suddenly turn red. The red aura moved against the blue, and seemed to be overpowering it.

Vegeta charged a green orb of energy in his right hand. If nobody else was willing to stop Krysis, it would fall to him.

What happened next occurred in the span of less than a second. Zenjin suddenly yelled in agony as Krysis' aura overpowered his own. Zenjin disappeared as though he were vapor, and Krysis aura retracted until it surrounded only him.

Vegeta fired his blast, but it was too little, too late. Krysis wounds visibly healed as the Crimson Tyrant stood back on his feet, a confident smile on his face.

"Oh no.." Goku said

Trunks removed his sword from it's scabbard and charged Krysis, only to be swatted aside by Krysis mind alone as though he were a fly. Trunks slammed painfully into the door leading back out into the hall.

From what Goku could tell, Krysis had absorbed Zenjin, regaining the good portion of his soul. When things didn't seem like they could get any worse, Krysis power level suddenly skyrocketed. He was now twice as powerful as Gogeta had been at maximum power. His spiritual strength was not the only thing that changed however. As his power rose Goku sensed Krysis nearly psychotic mind change into some kind of calm enlightenment. The evil in Krysis had diminished, but there was no question that the Crimson Tyrant was still a being of darkness threw and threw.

Krysis' aura became suddenly more wild as the entire room was caught in a miniature hurricane. Krysis grew slightly, his figure becoming similar in build to that of Goku or Vegeta. While he had the appearence of a child or teenager in his previous forms, Krysis now was clearly an adult. Even Trunks was surprised at Krysis new form and power.

As the wind subsided and Krysis aura calmed, the Crimson Tyrant looked around with amusement at all the warriors who struggled merely to stand in his presence.

"Something shattered and broken is now whole. My grand design is finally realized." Krysis said with a young, but mature and commanding sounding voice.

"What happened? Where is Zenjin?" Piccolo asked, clenching his hands into fists.

"Zenjin is I, we are one in the same Piccolo. You of all people should understand." Krysis said calmly as he looked over his foes.

"He was his own person, not simply another tool to increase your own power!" Piccolo yelled.

"That is merely your opinion Namek. Recombining with Zenjin was merely the completion of a plan I thought of long ago. When Trunks defeated me, I knew my power, while considerable, was nothing compared to what you Z-Fighters were capable of. I knew I would meet you all in combat, it was inevitable. This universe was where all the Regalia of Orion were scattered." Krysis said, silently looking over himself and nodding with approval.

"I'm tired of hearing you run that mouth of yours!" Piccolo said, charging suddenly at Krysis, who merely stepped out of Piccolo's way before feeling around his eyes with his right hand.

"My new look is still missing something." Krysis thought aloud.

Krysis' orange eyes suddenly lit up with realization. Putting his left hand into a pocket on the left side of his black pants, Krysis held the shattered remains of his mask. Krysis placed his mask back on his head, but in front of his eyes instead of over his mouth this time. When the mask was placed over Krysis' eyes, the red mask repaired itself, changing into the sort of mask one might see in a shakespeare play or Halloween masquerade.

"Much better. Now where was I? Oh yes." Krysis looked over the Z-Fighters, shaking his head at their defiance.

"Tell me Kakarot, does even Gogeta stand a chance against this guy now?" Vegeta quietly asked his friend.

"No, even at full power Gogeta is about half Krysis current level of strength." Goku said sadly.

Goku was one of the last people who would give up. But never before had he been so outclassed. In many past battles his enemy had been stronger than him, even much stronger, but even then there was always something that made victory possible. There was only one technique he knew of that could possible defeat Krysis now, and even then it would take time he didn't have.

"I don't know Vegeta. I just..don't know." Goku said with desperation and frustration in his voice.

"I never thought I'd hear you of all people say that father. Things must really be bad." Gohan said.

"Goku, do you think you could defeat me even if lets say, I allowed you to form a sprit bomb?" Krysis said, turning his dark gaze on Goku.

"Maybe..if I gathered energy from every lifeform in the universe with even a single bit of power." Goku said.

"Lets say you kill me. I said earlier that if I go to otherworld there is nothing preventing me from returning here. So you see, you really have no chance. Live with the pain of failure Goku, keep it bottled up inside you. Know that there is a being superior to you that you can never defeat." Krysis said with a slight smirk.

"Don't listen to him Kakarot. Don't listen to a word he says." Vegeta said, narrowing his eyes at Krysis.

"I'd love to stay and chat with all of you, but I have a sword and a set of armor to collect. Until next time!" Krysis said before disappearing in a flash via his instant transmission.

Piccolo smiled as a plan formed in his mind. Maybe Krysis was far stronger than any of them now, but he happened to know a weapon that would make such strength useless.

Piccolo pressed two fingers to his forehead and disappeared.

"What is Piccolo thinking?" Goku asked

"I think I have an idea." Vegeta said with his trademark smirk.

Meanwhile somewhere else Bardock stood on the surface of the strange other-worldly sandy blue planet. The clocks all pointed to 11, the proverbial final hour.

Gazing up at the being before him Bardock was in awe. He was face-to-face with a higher being far greater on the spritual totem pole than Tlama or Kohryu.

The father of Goku gathered his courage to speak.

"So, um, Azrael is it? What could you possibly want with me?" Bardock asked.

The pale man on the skeletal horse pointed his scythe towards Bardock.

"You desire the power required to defeat the being you call Krysis. I possess such power." Azrael said.

"What is the catch? You don't expect me to believe that you offer such power freely do you?" Bardock asked.

"All I desire in return is that when the time comes that you stand before a door, that you open it. You will know what I mean when you stand in the door's presence." Azrael said.

"I suppose if that is all you want in return, who am I to refuse?" Bardock said, doubts beginning to form even before he spoke those last words.

"Then we have an accord. When you next face Krysis in battle, you will have the power needed to defeat him. Now go and return to your world." Azrael said.

Meanwhile Krysis arrived at the steps of the great temple. Inside was the Sword of Orion, the second of the three Regalia. Krysis wasted no time in entering the temple.

Hovering as before inside a field of shimmering gold, the golden blade greeted Krysis, who grew excited with anticipation . He had reunited the two shattered parts of his soul for this sword, and now he would finally have a weapon capable of defeating any enemy.

That was what he thought anyway. Out of nowhere Piccolo appeared, smiling at Krysis with a toothy grin.

"Surprise!" Piccolo said as he quickly reached into the golden energy field and gripped the Sword of Orion in his right hand.

Piccolo felt a power unlike anything he had ever felt flow into him from the sword.

"Sorry but I think I'll keep this." Piccolo said to an increasingly angry Krysis.

"Very cunning Namek. None of you have the power to defeat me, but with that sword power really isn't an issue." Krysis said with a smile.

"Exactly. Now I think its time we ended your reign of terror once and for all." Piccolo said, preparing to attack Krysis with the sword.

"There is only one thing you fail to understand." Krysis said

Piccolo ignored Krysis and charged at him, sword in hand.

"Even the Sword of Orion's great offensive power is negated by the Cloak's defensive abilities." Krysis said, effortlessly blocking the golden blade with his crimson colored cape.

Krysis then in one swift motion delivered a fierce kick to Piccolo's stomach with his right leg. The stunned and surprised Namekian warrior fought to hold onto the Sword, but when Krysis delivered a fierce uppercut to Piccolo's jaw, even he was forced to drop the weapon.

"All of you Z-Fighters think your so smart. What you continually fail to realize is that I learned how to out-think my opponents thousands of years ago. When it comes to thinking strategically, none of you are close to being my equal." Krysis gloated as he kneeled down and picked up the golden blade he had spent years searching for.

With two of the regalia in his posession Piccolo realized for all intents and purposes Krysis was completely unbeatable. With his cloak he had the ultimate defense, there was literally nothing it couldn't block. With the sword now in his hands, he had the ultimate offense, a weapon capable of defeating any opponent with one attack. And then there was the matter of his vastly superior power.

Krysis handled the Sword of Orion like an old friend, a pleased smile on his face.

"You tried your best Piccolo, nobody will fault you for falling to such a superior being as myself." Krysis said as he looked down at the injured and fallen Namekian.

There was a small part of him that wanted to prolong the Namek's suffering, but he wanted to test his new weapon on someone.

"Do not fear, your friends will join you very soon." Krysis said, and then in one lightning-fast motion sliced Piccolo in two, the Namek's body exploding into microscopic pieces a second later.

Krysis looked at the beautiful golden blade in his hands with appreciation.

"Most impressive." Krysis said.

Suddenly the entire region went up in a tremendous explosion of black energy. Surprised, Krysis flew up and into the air, looking wildly around for signs of whoever could have attacked him.

Hovering over the ravine where the temple grounds once stood was what looked like a black furred Super Saiyan Four. The red bandanna over the warrior's forehead confirmed only one thing, Bardock was back stronger than ever, and by the look on his face, he was mad as hell.


	20. The Coming of the End

Bardock hovered over the smoking crater with nothing but rage in his eyes as he stared at Krysis.

"Ah I see the prodigal father returns, and with an impressive power boast I might add. Have you come to challenge me Bardock? You should know that you cannot win, I have the sword." Krysis said.

"I have not come here to challenge you. I have come to defeat you. But before I get started I want to know one thing..why?" Bardock asked.

"Why what?" Krysis asked, curious as to what exactly Bardock's question was.

"Why the obsession with power? Why do you need to be the strongest? What exactly is it your trying to achieve?" Bardock asked.

"What is my ultimate goal you ask? It is to rule over all. Once I'm done conquering Earth I will prepare the most powerful army in existence, with me as it's king and general." Krysis said proudly.

"We stopped your robotic army from the future, so what army exists on Earth that will serve you?" Bardock asked, staring at the red sky overhead briefly before returning his gaze to Krysis, whose broad shoulders and muscular body combined with his red cape gave him every appearance of a ruler.

"I intend on finishing what GenTech started. I will turn every man, woman and child on Earth into powerful Neo Saiyan warriors completely loyal to me. With such an army I will conquer Earth's galaxy, than the universe, then every universe and dimension until I am the supreme authority over all." Krysis said proudly as he unveiled his ultimate goal.

"I see your ambition has made you completely insane." Bardock said

"Is it insanity? Or am I the only one with the guts to achieve what everyone else believes is wrong or impossible? I have the audacity to not be content to be as I am, but to strive to be as I should be. I am either fated to rule over all, or I am fated to die." Krysis said with a voice full of confidence.

"Then this is your final hour. The ultimate fate of all mortals is death, and you are no exception." Bardock said as a dark green aura materialized around him.

"And you would be my executioner?" Krysis asked with a half smile on his face.

Bardock said no words in response, instead he only roared as he increased his already vast power level. Bardock's fur became the same green as his Saiyan armor, giving him a coloration that contrasted sharply with the other known Super Saiyan Fours.

"Who are you to judge me?" Krysis said angrily as he held the sword of orion ready.

In a flash Bardock teleported directly in front of Krysis, quickly dodged a sword slash and then attacked with his right fist, which was glowing with green fire. Delivering a fierce uppercut to Krysis' jaw before the Crimson Tyrant could reacte, Bardock began rapidly striking Krysis with both fists glowing with green flames.

Bardock dodged yet another sword slash from Krysis by ducking underneath the attack, then brought his right leg around and slammed Krysis with a high-speed roundhouse kick which caused Krysis to drop his weapon.

Bardock leveraged his momentum and teleported behind Krysis, then ripped his cloak right off. Both sections of the regalia plummeted into the canyon below. Bardock held out his hand and fired an enormious beam of green energy at the two items, which exploded on impact.

Krysis stared downwards in disbelief. His look of shock turned into anger as he looked in Bardock's direction.

"You..do you have any idea how long I have searched for those? And now you destroyed them!" Krysis yelled in rage.

"Life is a bitch isn't it?" Bardock responded with a sly grin.

"I will KILL you!" Krysis yelled as he flew towards Bardock, who crossed his arms and smiled, an act which made Krysis even more angry.

Krysis brought his right fist forward and struck Bardock in the right side of his face. Bardock smiled even wider.

"How does it feel to be totally outclassed Krysis? Maybe now you will understand how Piccolo felt right before you murdered him." Bardock said.

"SHUT UP!" Krysis yelled as he fired a gigantic red beam that covered the entire sky at Bardock.

Bardock placed both his arms in front of him in an X position and easily blocked Krysis' attack.

Bardock then rocketed forward and punched Krysis in the face with his right fist, then brought his left arm around and punched Krysis on the other side of his face.

"Are you in pain Krysis? Are you feeling outclassed? You haven't suffered enough!" Bardock yelled as he placed both his hands forward.

Krysis' eyes widened as a green ball of energy formed in Bardock's hands.

"Your crazy! If you fire that attack it will destroy this entire solar system!" Krysis said in alarm.

Bardock smiled at Krysis' fear before yelling the name of his attack.

"Chaos Avenger!" Bardock roared as the green orb in his hands grew to the size of a small city and then exploded, turning the planet beneath them into dust within seconds, followed by the other planets in the solar system. The green shockwave of energy even ripped apart the system's sun, turning it into a new nebula of gas and dust.

In space Bardock floated in an asteroid belt of his own making. Bardock looked around, immediately sensing that Krysis had survived.

"_So Krysis has enough power to survive in space using his own energy like I do. I was hoping the Chaos Avenger would have killed him, I guess it won't be that easy." _Bardock thought.

Roaring with rage Krysis burst out of a small nearby asteroid and rushed towards Bardock surrounded by his red aura, giving him the appearance of a crimson comet.

Bardock blocked each of Krysis' ten clumsy attempts at punching him, then slammed his left knee into Krysis' gut. Krysis keeled over in shock and pain, nearly losing his only means of surviving in space as his aura weakened.

Bardock brought his right fist forward and slammed it into the middle of Krysis' face. Blood oozed down from Krysis now-broken nose.

Bardock brought his left arm around and was about to punch Krysis when he noticed something in Krysis changing.

Abandoning his attack, Bardock flew backwards and put a safe distance between himself and Krysis.

Krysis aura grew chaotic as his hair stood up, becoming spiky. Krysis' now red eyes seemed to gloss over. This was no longer a rational being, but a crazed animal consumed by rage.

"Kill..kill..kill..KILL!" Krysis yelled in a gruff voice as he rushed towards Bardock, who swiftly blocked the anger-filled attack.

"Ripping off a Saiyan transformation won't beat me." Bardock said right before and spun his right leg around and struck Krysis in this face.

Krysis took the blow, but did not seem like he felt it as he stared at Bardock with his almost animalistic eyes. The blood from Krysis' broken nose still flowed, but Krysis no longer seemed to feel the pain.

Bardock rushed forward and quickly ducked beneath Krysis' clumsy attempt at a punch, then formed a ball of green energy in his right hand which he fired point blank into Krysis' chest.

Krysis was sent flying backwards in the void of space for what Bardock assumed as lightyears.

"Time to end this. Chaos Avenger!" Bardock yelled as he formed two ultra-powerful green orbs of energy in both hands, then combined them. Bardock tossed the comet-like attack in the direction Bardock sensed Krysis.

The attack flew into the distant void for quite some time before exploding with a brightness that rivaled that of a super nova.

"That was for Piccolo." Bardock said before narrowing his eyes.

Suddenly thousands of orbs of red energy came flying towards Bardock. Bardock attempted to blast one, but that only increased the size of the red energy orb.

Deciding to brave the storm, Bardock flew threw the incoming cloud of red orbs for what Bardock assumed was close to a lightyear before slamming his right fist at faster than light speeds into Krysis.

To Bardock's surprise though, Krysis managed to catch Bardock's right hand before it connected with his own left hand.

Krysis smiled.

"Kill..Kill..KILLL!" Krysis chanted before throwing Bardock away from him.

"It really is a shame to see what your vocabulary has degenerated into." Bardock said as he soared backwards.

Krysis ignored Bardock's comment as he teleported in front of him.

"Expanding Orb!" Krysis yelled as he fired a red sphere crackling with energy in Bardock's direction.

Before Bardock could dodge the attack the sphere lived up to its name and expanded, forcing Bardock to fight against it's power or face injury, or worse.

There seemed to be no end to the growth of the sphere. It quickly grew to the size of the Earth, then ten earths. In minutes it was the size of a star, and just when Bardock thought it was going to continue expanding the sphere promptly exploded with a force greatly exceding that of Bardock's Chaos Avenger.

Bardock saw stars. He was not sure if he was spinning or not, but he knew he was moving. Fortunately Bardock was not injured. He was amazed at his new power. The attack Krysis had just used was capable of wiping out a galaxy, yet he was almost completely unharmed by it.

Bardock ceased his movement and looked into the distance. Sure enough, Krysis was heading his way. At this distance, Krysis could have been mistaken for a red star, yet Bardock knew his opponent when he saw him.

Bardock fired a few hundred blasts of green energy in Krysis' direction. The move was more to see what Krysis would do than to actually harm him.

To Bardock's surprise Krysis dodged each and every one of his attacks before appearing in front of him, now back to his normal state.

Bardock could tell that Krysis was low on power. His last attack had used up a great deal of his energy reserves.

Fortunately Bardock still had alot of energy to spare, meaning that this battle was almost over.

"Where could you have gotten such power? You were barely able to hold Super Saiyan Three earlier today when you fought Aquila. Now you possess the form of the Super Saiyan Four, yet you have powers far exceeding what is normal for that state." Krysis said as he struggled to breathe, let alone maintain his aura.

"Well I drink orange juice every morning, and eat a well balanced breakfast." Bardock said with a slight smile.

"Your sarcasm rivals that of Vegeta. Why can't you give me a straight answer?" Krysis said, seemingly so exhausted he couldn't even grow angry.

"My sarcasm is at an amateur level compared to Vegeta's, but you flatter me. If you really want to know, lets just say I had help from a higher, or lower power, depending on how you look at it." Bardock said, his green aura contrasting sharply against the blackness of space.

"Then I have no choice then." Krysis said before vanishing in what Bardock assumed was instant transmission.

Bardock sensed Krysis nearby Earth, then quickly used his own instant transmission to teleport to the chamber inside the Time Fortress where he immediately saw Trunks, Goku, Gohan and Vegeta.

No sooner did he arrive did Bardock feel his form and power return to normal. Whatever Azrael had done had undone itself.

"Where is Krysis?" Bardock asked the others.

"Where is Piccolo?" Gohan asked in response.

"He was killed by Krysis. Fortunately I managed to destroy the Cloak and Sword of Orion. I also managed to severely weaken Krysis. If we hurry we should be able to destroy him." Bardock said.

"Wait, how did you manage to fight him? Your power level isn't nearly strong enough as Super Saiyan Three to compete with Krysis. Heck, Kakorot and I aren't even a match for him as Super Saiyan Fives." Vegeta asked, crossing his arms as he waited for Bardock's answer.

"It is a long story Vegeta." Bardock said.

"Bardock is right guys, we need to find Krysis while he is still vulnerable." Trunks said.

"Don't bother trying to find me Trunks. I will come for you soon." Krysis said, his voice seemingly coming from all directions at once.

"What are you planning?" Trunks yelled.

"I am going to absorb the power source of the Time Fortress. I hope you realize you all have nobody but yourselves to blame for what happens afterwards." Krysis said

"No! You must not do that! Not while the Time Fortress is outside the timestream!" Trunks pleaded.

"I would have had such a glorious empire. The Earth and this universe would have become a utopia. But YOU all had to ruin that. Without the regalia I am now forced to resort to plan B. I will become one with the timestream itself." Krysis said.

"You can't! If you do that it will destroy the universe!" Trunks said in alarm.

"A small price to pay for victory. In any case the universe will not be destroyed. It will merely be remade. All the imperfections will be eliminated." Krysis said.

Suddenly the entire structure around the Z-Fighters began to shake.

"We have to get out of here, without the power source this entire place is coming apart!" Trunks said.

Goku swiftly grabbed Gohan, Vegeta and Trunks and teleported back to Earth using his Instant Tranmission. Bardock used his own Instant Transmission to follow.

The Time Fortress sure enough, disintegrated, leaving behind only a very exhausted looking Krysis, who swiftly teleported himself back to Earth as well.

The Z-Fighters stood in an arid area. The sky was a vibrant orange, and the sand and rock-filled ground around them was a light tan in coloration.

It seemed a fitting place for a final battle.

Sure enough, Krysis appeared nearby breathing heavily.

"He looks like he's seen better days." Goku said quietly.

"If we attack now we have a chance at destroying him." Trunks said.

Bardock and Gohan needed no more encouragement, and both powered up to their maximum and charged at Krysis. Gohan used his full Mystic Super Saiyan Four power, while Bardock made due as a Super Saiyan Three.

Trunks powered up to a Super Saiyan Four and was about to join his friends in battle when both Bardock and Gohan went flying backwards suddenly, as though they struck an invisible barrier.

"Krysis is about to change." Vegeta said, narrowing his eyes at Krysis

Krysis yelled in pain as he nearly fell over. His cries only grew more agonizing as the moments passed.

Krysis screamed as two objects began growing out of his back. Eventually the objects took the form of two diamond-shaped eyes composed of a black metallic-like substance. The eye on the right was red in coloration, while the eye on the left was blue in color. Krysis own eyes changed for orange to green.

Krysis screamed as he clutched his head in pain. The eyes that had grown out of him moments before continued to change in shape until they began to resemble cyclops-like faces.

"What is happening to him?" Gohan asked

"I can only assume by absorbing the power source of the time fortress, something even the Guardians knew little to nothing about, that Krysis is becoming some kind of embodiment of time itself." Trunks said with concern in his voice.

Sweat poured down Krysis as his tan skin turned a dull grey. Krysis voice seemed to change, taking on an echo.

"Looks like his transformation is complete. Everyone, prepare yourselves!" Vegeta said as he got into a fighting stance.

All three of Krysis heads turned towards the sky. Krysis then yelled. While he was clearly powering up, something else was happening. Everything around except for Krysis and the Z-Fighters warped like a rock tossed into a puddle. In seconds the scenery changed.

It was a desert on Earth. Goku and Vegeta immediately recognized the area however. It was the site of their first battle. What made things even more disturbing was the sight of both Goku and Vegeta, frozen in place in the middle of a beam struggle.

"Wasn't that when I?" Goku started to ask.

"Yes, that was when I first used my Galic Gun against you Kakorot, to which you responded with the Kamehameha Wave. Krysis has transported us back to that very instant somehow." Vegeta said.

"Nothing like a trip..trip down memory lane don't you think?" Krysis asked, his voice sounding alien with the triple echo.

"What have you done?" Trunks asked.

"It is not what I have done, but what I am about to do that should concern you. I will eliminate your past selves here at this very moment. Both of you will never have existed to oppose me." Final Form Krysis said with a smile on all three faces.

"NO..YOU WILL NOT TAMPER WITH THE PAST." A loud familiar voice said.

"That power..rivals that of my own. Show yourself!" Krysis demanded

Suddenly a large golden dragon appeared above the time frozen landscape.

"Kohryu!" Gohan said with surprise.

"I killed you! How do you still live?" Krysis asked

"REPORTS OF MY DEMISE WERE GREATLY EXHAGGERATED. YOU MAY BATTLE THE Z-FIGHTERS KRYSIS, BUT YOU SHALL NOT HAVE THE POWER TO ALTER THE PAST." Kohryu said, then his red eyes glowed.

"Well no matter, with my current power none of you were a match for me anyway." Krysis said

"We will see about that." Trunks said with a slight smile on his face.

"I assure you Trunks you and your friends have absolutely no chance at winning." Krysis said, his voice echoing eerily.

"There is always a chance." Goku said.

"If I've learned anything from Kakorot over the years it is that even when things seem hopeless, you'd be surprised just how close victory truly is." Vegeta said with his trademark smirk.

"We will beat you, for the sake of everyone that lives." Gohan said, striking a combat pose.

"For everyone you have killed in the pursuit of power, we must beat you." Bardock said.

"Well then friends, prepare yourselves for the coming of the end." Krysis said.


	21. Courage, Redemption, Grief

_Well here it is dear readers. The final Krysis chapter. This brings the saga of Krysis to an end, but it is by no means the final end to my Transcendsion story..Read on..if you dare, be sure to let me know what you all think of the completed Krysis Saga and final chapter._

_..._

Krysis stood confident in his own power. All around time stood still, displaying a moment from a battle fought long ago.

Vegeta stood in his full Super Saiyan Five glory, his silver fur contrasting sharply with his white Saiyan armor. He looked at his surroundings silently as memories of that fateful battle flooded his mind.

"_I have thought back to that battle many times. At first it was in rage at the fact I was beaten by someone I thought was beneath me. Then it was a milestone in my rivalry with Kakarot. Now that I see it again with my own eyes, it has made me realize how much I have changed. I was cold and ruthless and thought only of my own power, my own desires. I was not so different from Krysis. Now though I know what it means to care for others, to fight for a cause greater than myself. I'm glad I lost that battle now. I suppose that sometimes you gain more from losing than winning." _Vegeta thought with a slight smile on his face.

Vegeta roared as he brought his powers up to their absolute maximum.

"_If this is to be my final battle, so be it. I will die with honor." _Vegeta thought as he launched himself at Krysis.

"Your power is about one fourth that of my own, and still knowing that you march onward towards your own death? What cause could be so great that you would be willing to give up your own life?" Krysis asked as Vegeta approached him, his aura flaring out giving the Saiyan Prince the appearance of a blue comet.

"I fight for my son, for my daughter and for my wife. I fight for everyone on Earth unable to fight for themselves, for all the lives in this universe that you would destroy." Vegeta yelled right before his right fist struck Krysis in his grey chest.

Vegeta began slamming Krysis with hundreds of fiery blue punches.

"Such nobility from someone who once prided himself on his ruthlessness." Krysis said as Vegeta continued to strike him.

Gohan nearby watched Vegeta's display of courage in attacking Krysis and was reminded of his past as a Z-Fighter.

"_I remember how young I was when I first learned how to fight. Piccolo was a harsh teacher, but he was a great friend. Once you saved my life and sacrificed yourself, and what happened later still I will never forget. When helped me against Cell in that final battle, what started as compassion lead to our victory. I do this for you..old friend." _Gohan thought as he yelled, bring his Super Saiyan Four power to its absolute zenith.

Gohan yelled as he flew towards Krysis. His right arm glowed with red energy right before Gohan struck Krysis with a strong uppercut.

Under the combined assault of Vegeta and Gohan, one would think the Crimson Tyrant would feel something, but he continued to stand, seemingly unaffected by the attacks of the two Z-Fighters.

Goku stood, a silver giant with flaming eyes. Goku nearby looked with pride at his son, but frowned at seeing how seemingly unaffected Krysis was to everyone's attacks.

"_When I returned to Earth I was confident my new transformation would be more than enough to defeat Krysis. I underestimated him, just as Vegeta underestimated me all those years ago when we first fought. So much depends on us here. Not just the Earth or the universe, but all of time and space. I can't, no I won't allow Krysis to do as he pleases with all creation. This ends here and now." Goku _thought as he yelled, pushing his power to the very limit.

Goku rocketed towards Krysis with both his arms glowing with golden energy. Vegeta and Gohan seemed to sense Goku's incoming attack as they flew backwards.

"Double Dragon Fist!" Goku yelled as two golden dragons that resembled shenron appeared and coiled around Krysis, their maws descending on the Crimson Tyrant with deadly intent.

"That is an impressive attack, but it is still useless against someone like me." Krysis said as the dragons struck him, apparently doing no damage as they disappeared.

Goku flew back and landed next to Vegeta and Gohan. The three were quite the impressive site standing on the rocky cliff. Goku with his orange vest and green pants, as well as the stylized dragon on the back of his shirt. Combined with Goku's tall form and silver fur, he looked quite formidable. Vegeta was also quite the sight with his blue pants and white Saiyan-style armor, as was Gohan with his red Super Saiyan Four fur, bat-like chest markings, slick black hair and red pants. If this was to be their final battle, than nobody would say they weren't fighting in style.

Nearby Bardock gazed with pride at his son and grandson. They fought against nearly impossible odds, yet their courage did not waver.

"_I remember when you were just a baby my son. The first time I saw you I was more interested in warning everyone on Vegeta of Frieza's incoming attack. But I will never forget that vision I saw of you. I saw you grow up to become a great warrior, and I knew it would be you that ended up defeating Frieza. As I charged into battle in that vain attempt to defeat Frieza myself, I fought hoping that I would die with honor, that somehow, someone would look at my final moments and just maybe that would make up for the lifetime of evil I was responsible for. The killing of innocents in Frieza's name, the neglect of my first born son, abandoning my wife. I have so much blood on my hands. I have died once, I gladly face death again. And I do so knowing that my final acts will be righteous ones." _Bardock thought as he yelled, the strength of his Super Saiyan Three transformation reaching the limits of what it was capable of.

Bardock flew as fast as he could towards Krysis. His waist-long hair moved in the wind generated by his flight. Bardock's red stained bandanna and green saiyan armor were part of Bardock's signature outfit, and if Bardock had anything to say about it, Krysis would remember the green armored saiyan who refused to surrender.

"Chaos Avenger!" Bardock yelled as he formed a sphere of green energy in his right hand. In his current form Bardock knew the attack would be nothing compared to how strong it was earlier, but he didn't care.

Bardock tossed his deadly attack at Krysis, who was struck dead-on by the green orb.

A small explosion occured, but when the smoke cleared, Krysis was completely unharmed.

"You all have tried valiantly to harm me. Sadly, your efforts have failed." Krysis said with his eeriely echoing voice.

"Well at least give us points for trying." Bardock said

"We have to try a Spirit Bomb Kakarot, its the only attack that can harm him at this point." Vegeta suggested.

"That might work Vegeta, but sadly I'm not going to give you imbeciles the time to form one. Its my turn to attack." Krysis said, then suddenly flew quickly towards Bardock, his three headed, grey-skinned form preparing to slam the father of Goku with a fierce right punch.

"_Do we even have a chance in this battle? Krysis has gotten more powerful than anything I have ever felt before. Still I will not stand here like a coward while my friends fight valiantly to save all that exists." Perfect Trunks thought as he powered up to the limits of his Super Saiyan Four transformation._

Trunks flew to intercept Krysis, knowing that with his far inferior power and speed he was unlikely to do anything to effect the outcome of this battle. Still he flew forward.

Trunks withdrew Excalibur from its scabbard as he charged at his foe. Before Krysis could strike Bardock with his right fist Trunks swatted Krysis aside with his glowing golden sword.

Krysis landed on the sandy ground below, and quickly got back onto his feet.

"How is possible that your antiquated old sword could possibly touch the very incarnation of time?" Krysis yelled angrily.

Trunks smiled. In all those eons ago when the Time Guardians continued their vigil over the various timelines one thing was always constant. Arthur and his mighty sword. Arthur had once told him during his final moments that his sword had a greater purpose, a purpose that Trunks would realize when the time was right.

"This sword was built to defeat you." Trunks said, then flew down at Krysis.

"I think not!" Krysis yelled, the eyes on his left head glowing a bright blue..

Before Trunks could land any kind of blow with his sword he found himself on another world. The sky was a dull green, and islands of blue grass and trees shaped like lollipops with blue leaves stood here and there.

"This is Namek!" Gohan yelled, instantly recognizing where they had been transported to.

"Not just Namek, but the location of the final battle between Goku and Frieza." Krysis said as he crossed his arms over his chest and flew into the air.

Sure enough, Frieza was nearby with a small charged ball of energy forming in his fingertips.

Goku would never forget that moment. It was seconds before Frieza began the process which eventually destroyed the planet.

Vegeta frowned. At that moment in time he was not among the living. He almost felt like he was walking over his own grave.

"I'm glad you recognize where we are, because all of you will die here." Krysis yelled before firing three beams of red energy from the mouth of all three of his heads.

One beam flew towards Goku, another towards Vegeta, and a third towards Gohan.

"Hyper Nova!" Vegeta yelled, sending his charged blue energy beam colliding with Krysis own.

"Grand Kamehameha!" Goku yelled, firing a very powerful violet Kamehameha directly at Krysis beam.

"Masenko Times TEN!" Gohan yelled, sending his own charged orange energy beam directly at the beam heading his way.

The three Saiyans were caught in a three-way beam struggle with Krysis. Trunks and Bardock knew Krysis had a huge advantage in terms of power, yet even he was unable to overpower Goku, Vegeta or Gohan all at once.

Gradually, by working together the three were able to push Krysis' attacks back to their source.

"No! How is this possible! I am the strongest here!" Krysis yelled as the three Saiyan's attacks struck him dead on, creating a large explosion. Krysis looked surprised after the smoke from the explosion cleared but was not terribly unharmed.

Wasting no time Krysis flew at Goku. Goku was sent to the ground hard by a hard punch from Krysis, who immediately teleported to Gohan and did the same to him.

Krysis appeared in front of Vegeta, who was also sent slamming into the ground before he could react.

The three lay on the ground, each looked like they had broken some bones, and that was only from a single punch.

"Whose next?" Krysis said in his echoing voice, looking around until his eyes gazed upon Bardock.

"The one who ruined my plans. All my ambition was destroyed because of you Bardock. Yet where is the strength you had earlier? Perhaps you will have such strength again after I kill you." Krisis said with a sinister grin on his original face.

"_You said you would give me the power to defeat this guy. He is not defeated, and unless he is I will never be able to open that doorway. So I ask for your power once again." _Bardock thought silently.

"Are you praying now? Making peace with the fact your about to die your final death Bardock? Well the time to pray is over. The time to perish has arrived!" Krysis yelled as he fired a sphere of red energy at Bardock.

Trunks looked at the attack heading Bardock's way.

"_If he is hit by that at his current level of power he will be killed, I have to do something!" _Trunks thought.

"Poor poor Bardock. You couldn't save your people or defeat Frieza. You couldn't even defeat me. After I kill all of you I will make certain that the word Saiyan means failure in the language of every race, in all timelines." Krysis said cruelly.

As Krysis' red orb struck Bardock it was destroyed by a sudden outpouring of green energy. Bardock floated in midair, once again in his green Super Saiyan Four state, with a look of disapproval on his face as he stared at Krysis.

"What? How is that possible?" Krysis said in alarm, a look of shock on all three of his faces.

Bardock flew down and slammed Krysis with a fierce right uppercut, then followed that attack up with a roundhouse kick from his right leg. As Krysis flew down towards the ground Bardock formed a green energy sphere in his right hand.

"Chaos...AVENGER!" Bardock yelled, firing his attack at Krysis.

Before the attack could strike the blue eyes of Krysis left head glowed, and all reality around the Z-Fighters and Krysis seemed to shift.

Vegeta forced his injured body to stand.

"Not this again." Vegeta said, seeing the scenery changing yet again.

This time they arrived on yet another planet. The world had a ruined cityscape covering part of its surface, as well as a castle on a high cliff. Vegeta would never forget the site of their battle with that monster Broly..they were on the world Paragus had named "New Vegeta".

Before Krysis could do anything more Bardock dived down and slammed Krysis in his middle face with a hard punch. Bardock's second attack was caught by Krysis left hand, and the two began a struggle of strength shortly afterwards.

Krysis eventually managed to fling Bardock away from him. Before Krysis could attack again however, Vegeta fired another Hypernova. This time the attack caused Krysis to stumble backwards.

Trunks wasted no more time and rushed at Krysis with his sword in hand.

"_This is it. If I can strike Krysis with Excalibur in its charged state this fight will be over."_ Trunks thought as he moved ever closer to Krysis.

Before Trunks could strike however, Goku's voice was heard yelling "Grand Kamehameha"! As the huge violet beam struck Krysis, who stumbled backwards again.

Krysis regained his footing quickly and seemed annoyed.

"All of you are proving to be quite annoying insects. I'm running out of patience for your heroics Saiyans." Krysis said, forming a red sphere of energy in both his right and left hands.

"Annoying you is only the beginning. Krysis your problem is that you don't see the writing on the wall. Your playing a very risky game, and let me tell you, when you play with the prince of all Saiyans you better play to win." Vegeta said with his trademark smirk, then began charging energy in both his hands.

Krysis suddenly flew at Vegeta, his fists engulfed in a crimson energy. Before Krysis could strike the Saiyan Prince, Bardock appeared in front of him and took the blow meant for Vegeta.

Bardock fell to the ground in pain, clutching his chest with his right hand.

"Your really a masochist aren't you Bardock? Well if you like pain there is more where that came from." Krysis said as he slowly walked over to Bardock.

"Hyper Nova!" Vegeta roared, sending another helping of his most powerful attack at Krysis.

Krysis ignored the attack as it struck him, and proceded to slam Bardock in the chest with a hard right kick.

Bardock was sent soaring high into the sky. Krysis flew upwards after the father of Goku, full of dark intent.

"_This is getting out of hand. I have to find a way to strike Krysis with Excalibur, but as long as he is aware of my attacks I will never be able to hit him. There has to be a way to distract him long enough." _Trunks thought as he watched Krysis approach Bardock.

Gohan flew upwards intent on protecting his grandfather. He formed a ball of energy in his left hand.

"Hey Krysis, here is an attack my Grandfather taught me, say hello to the Riot Javelin!" Gohan yelled as he tossed the grenade-like white energy attack in Krysis' direction.

Gohan's attack succeeded in distracting Krysis from attacking Bardock, which also gave Goku an opening to attack.

As the Riot Javelin struck Krysis, creating yet another explosion, Goku flew up behind Krysis and yelled "Grand Kamehameha!" firing his ultra-powerful violet beam point-blank at Krysis.

"_Now is my chance!" _Trunks thought as he flew upwards at Krysis, sword in hand.

Once again reality warped and changed, signaling that Krysis had again transported them to another place and time.

Krysis flew down, completely unharmed, and landed in the middle of what looked like a world tournament arena. All around them were broken remains of royal military vehicles. Next to the ring was the Z-Fighters, frozen as they watched a battle from long ago.

Looking upwards, Trunks and Gohan saw Goku frozen in the sky as he blocked a punch from Perfect form Cell.

"We are at the Cell Games." Gohan said flatly.

Trunks had nearly struck Krysis. He would have hit him if he had not used his powers to transport them into another moment in time.

"I'm glad you recognize this historic moment. I rather appreciate Cell's flare for the dramatic. Making an entire world watch a battle that decides whether or not everyone lives or dies." Krysis said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Krysis why are you playing these games with us?" Trunks asked bluntly, staring directly at the Crimson Tyrant.

"Playing? Why whatever do you mean Trunks?" Krysis asked with a wicked smile on all three of his faces.

Trunks crossed his arms before speaking again.

"I mean you have more than enough power to destroy all of us no problem. Instead you have been using miniscule amounts of power each time you have attacked us. You have given me plenty of opportunities to strike you with my sword, each time transporting us in time before I can actually hit you." Trunks said matter-of-factly.

"What use is absolute power if there is nothing to use it on Trunks? At my current strength there is nobody in any timeline who could match me in power. I will never have opponents like you and your friends ever again, so I thought I might as well let this battle last while I still can." Krysis said with a grin on his faces.

"And then what Krysis? What will you do when your game is over?" Goku said with anger in his voice as he walked over to stand next to Trunks.

"I have grand plans. I already revealed some of that to Bardock. Suffice to say since you have all destroyed any chances of bringing my empire to your timeline, as I told Bardock I intend on picking up where Gentech left off. I will construct a machine on Earth that will turn every man, woman, and child into Neo Saiyan warriors under my control. With my army I will then conquer the universe, then otherworld. After that is accomplished I will wage war on both the Celestial and Infernal powers. In the end, all will bow down at my feet and worship me as their god and emperor." Krysis said with a happy tone.

"But with your power what is the point of an army?" Gohan asked.

"Because I want to create a legacy that everyone on all worlds and dimensions will never forget. A perfect master race of warriors. They will have the creativity of humanity, the fighting abilities and powers of the Saiyans, and finally, the longevity of the Pariahans. They will be a worthy successor to the Pariahans of old." Krysis said.

"That isn't going to happen." Vegeta said.

"Oh? And why not?" Krysis asked.

"Because we are going to stop you thats why." Gohan said with conviction in his voice.

"Your all quite the comedians. Are you forgetting I've let you all live so far because you amuse me? I could kill you all in an instant if I wanted to." Krysis said darkly.

"Really? Then go right ahead. I figure if you could do what you say you are capable of you would have done so by now. You know what I think Krysis? Deep down your just a scared child who can't admit he is wrong. All of these games are just one big tantrum. You want to conquer everything to make up for you lack of self-esteem. It is pitiful." Vegeta said with a smirk.

Immediately Gohan, Goku, and Trunks glared at Vegeta.

"_Is father trying to get us all killed?" _Trunks thought to himself.

"What did you say?" Krysis said, anger evident in his voice.

"I said your a spoiled child who is mad he hasn't gotten his way!" Vegeta yelled without fear, a smirk on his face.

"I will make you regret those words." Krysis said as a red mist began pouring from different spots on Krysis' body.

"I'm so scared. What are you now? Maijin Buu?" Vegeta said.

Without warning Krysis pointed his right hand at Vegeta, and fired the most powerful beam of energy anyone present had ever felt.

The red beam was red and resembled a field of blood-like liquid, and moved faster than any attack Goku had ever seen.

Luckily Vegeta had anticipated Krysis' attack, and managed to roll out of the line of fire seconds before Krysis released his blast. The planet they were on however, was not so lucky, and in seconds Goku, Vegeta, Trunks, Gohan and Bardock found themselves in a silvery void.

A ribbon of silver energy flowed a great distance away from the Z-Fighters. Smaller ribbons flowed in all possible directions.

Bardock and Trunks were the only two present that recognized exactly where they had been transported to.

"Opps, looks like I destroyed the last remaining timeline. With Earth destroyed at the Cell games your lives and your universe no longer exist." Krysis said with sigh.

"You just destroyed any hopes you once had of creating an empire, along with everything else." Trunks said.

"Actually that isn't completely true. Do not forget I have become one with the power source of the Time Fortress. The power source has the ability to reboot a timeline that has been destroyed. What I'm more interested in is why you all still are able to exist." Krysis said, looking at the Z-Fighters with a curious expression.

"Perhaps because you never actually destroyed the timeline Krysis, I merely transported you to the Plane of Time." A familiar voice said.

The Z-Fighters looked above them to see Kohryu, in his Kai form, floating above them with his arms crossed, a stern expression on his wise face.

"Once again you have to mettle in my affairs." Krysis said with an annoyed tone in his voice.

Kohryu ignored Krysis and floated a safe distance away from the upcoming battle.

"So how does it feel knowing your fighting a battle you cannot possibly win. Your all shortly going to die you know that right?" Krysis said, looking at the Z-Fighters floating nearby.

Goku decided at that moment to speak.

"You know what Krysis? Your wrong. There is always a chance for victory. It doesn't matter if your a billion times more powerful than us, we will find a way. And know this: Your not really fighting against us personally. It is what we represent that you struggle against. Even if you kill us all others will take our place. Even if you kill those others still more will step forward to oppose you. This is not just a struggle of flesh and blood, but a battle between good and evil, light and darkness. Know this Krysis: Light ALWAYS cuts threw the darkness just as Good ultimately will prevail against evil. As long as the slightest glimmer of hope exists your defeat is inevitable." Goku said with conviction and passion.

"Kakorot is right. By harming others you ultimately succeed only in harming yourself. Take it from me, I've been there." Vegeta said.

"Is that so? Well I think I will test that theory and kill you all now!" Krysis said then began powering up a massive charge of red energy in both hands.

"Gohan, Trunks, Vegeta and Goku. Take these, they may prove useful in this fight." Kohryu yelled as he tossed four glittering objects down at the Z-Fighters.

Vegeta, Gohan, Trunks and Goku each caught what were clearly golden potara earrings.

"Are these the permanent or non-permanent variety?" Vegeta asked, eyeing the earring in his right hand with disdain.

"They are the same kind you and Gohan used against Tlama, use them quickly." Kohryu said.

"Well Trunks, up for some fusion?" Gohan asked.

"I'm sort of already a fusion, will this even work?" Trunks asked, eyeing the earring with caution.

"We don't have many options." Gohan said, reminding Trunks of the imminent danger facing them.

Trunks shrugged and placed his earring on his left ear just as Gohan did the same in his right ear.

"Well as long as it isn't permanent." Vegeta said, shrugging.

"Defeating Krysis is all that matters." Goku said as he placed his earring on his left ear, just as Vegeta placed his on his right ear.

Immediately everything for a vast distance around was engulfed in a golden radiance. Krysis was forced to shut his eyes and cease charging his attack, the light was so bright.

As the light dimmed two warriors were seen.

Bardock looked at the two warriors with surprise.

"Fusion never gets old." Bardock said quietly to himself.

One of the warriors wore an orange Saiyan vest, white boots and blue pants. The warrior's hair resembled Vegeta's, but had a bit of hair hanging in front that was clearly from Goku. The fusion's silver hair and fur meant that the warrior was clearly a Super Saiyan Five.

The fusion crossed his arms in a very-Vegeta-like manner and smirked before speaking.

"Hello Krysis, my name is Vegeto. I fully intend on making up for my counterpart Gogeta's failure in defeating you." Vegeto said in the double voice characteristic of fusion.

The other fused warrior had golden armor covering his chest, shoulders and abdomen. He wore red pants and blue boots, and had golden bracelets on both wrists. The warrior's hair greatly resembled Gotenks, except for the strand of lavender hair over the warrior's forehead. The warrior's face seemed to more resemble Trunks than Gohan. The second warrior had the red aura, tail, and fur of a Super Saiyan Four.

"Krysis do you truly believe you can defeat the power of two fusions?" The Gohan-Trunks fusion said, pointing Excalibur at Krysis with his right hand.

"So we have Vegeto and, who would you be?" Krysis asked the second of the two fused warriors.

"You can call me Truhan." Truhan said.

"While your fusion trick is always interesting, in truth I'm growing bored, know that your heriocs are all for nothing. Time to end this game." Krysis said before charging red energy in both hands.

"This should be good." Vegeto said, not impressed by Krysis in the least.

"Apocalypse Shockwave!" Krysis yelled, firing an enormious red comet-like protectile in the direction of the fused Z-Fighters.

Vegeto used instant transmission to teleport out of the blast's way, and directly in front of Krysis.

"Looks like you missed me." Vegeto said right before he began pummeling Krysis with millions of split-second punches from both his hands.

Krysis had a look of utter rage on his face as he slammed Vegeto with a flying haymaker punch from his right hand, sending the fusion high into the silver sky. Krysis quickly flew upwards and followed Vegeto.

Truhan looked upwards and saw several shockwaves of power in the sky, given off by the clash between a Super Saiyan Five Vegeto and Krysis.

Vegeto blocked a punch from Krysis with his right arm, then swung his left leg around in an attempt to kick Krysis, who blocked with his own right arm.

On and on the melee struggle continued between the two titans, their struggle giving off colossal shockwaves which probably would have destroyed any planet they were fighting on, had they been in the normal physical universe.

Vegeto teleported some distance away from Krysis and crossed his arms.

"Really it is nice to have an opponent who can keep up with me for once. With my last opponent I was forced to hold back so I wouldn't destroy him, friends held hostage and all." Vegeto said with a very Vegeta-like smirk.

"How is it your so much stronger than Gogeta was?" Krysis said, growing frustrated as he gathered red energy in his hands.

"You think one fusion is as good as another? Sadly for you that isn't the case." Vegeto said, placing his arms in front of himself in an X pattern as he struck a defensive position.

"I'll show you that your just as useless as your friend Gogeta turned out to be!" Krysis yelled as he fired his liquid-like tsunami of red energy directly at Vegeto.

Vegeto yelled as he fought against the sheer force of Krysis' blast. He was confident he could win this fight, even without any help. After all, if he had beaten Super Buu so badly as a mere Super Saiyan, imagine what he was capable of as a Super Saiyan Five?

Vegeto roared as his silver-furred body glowed with destructive bolts of blue electricity. The fusion gathered blue energy of his own in both his hands.

"_I bet he won't expect me to fire at him from within his own attack. Won't he be surprised." _Vegeto thought as he gathered the energy for his attack.

"Hyper Dragon Wave!" Vegeto yelled, firing a blue snake-like energy dragon out of his hands. The blue energy dragon cut threw Krysis' attack like a hot knife threw butter, and Krysis was completely taken off guard when the dragon emerged from his own continuing attack and struck him.

Krysis screamed as the attack ripped into his right arm. Seconds later he tried to move his limp arm, but it wouldn't move, it simply hung useless at his side.

"What have you done to me!" Krysis yelled in outrage.

"I just disabled one of your arms with my attack. Whatever the Hyper Dragon Wave cannot destroy it disables. It won't last forever though. At least for now, your strength is cut drasticly." Vegeto said

Krysis roared and launched himself at Vegeto, who easily managed to block each angry blow from the Crimson Tyrant.

Truhan watched the battle, and decided now was the time to strike. Holding Excalibur in his right hand, the fusion flew upwards as Krysis angrily attacked Vegeto.

Vegeto smiled as Krysis continued to pointlessly punch at him.

"It was fun playing with you Krysis, but I gotta go..see ya!" Vegeto said as spotted Truhan out of the corner of his eye.

Krysis suddenly struck air as Vegeto split back into Goku and Vegeta.

Seeing this development Krysis smiled.

"Looks like your fusion time was up!" Krysis said with a smile on his faces.

"No, earring fusion has no time limit, we just choose to end it." Goku said.

"Why? You think you can defeat me without it? I'm still much stronger than you!" Krysis said confidently.

"Thank you captain obvious." Vegeta said with a smirk on his face.

"Are you mocking me?' Krysis asked

Suddenly Krysis was impaled by the blade of a golden sword. The sword was held by Truhan, who gave Vegeta and Goku a thumbs-up with his free hand before splitting back into Perfect Trunks and Gohan.

Trunks held Excalibur inside Krysis, who was obviously in pain.

"What have you done!" Krysis yelled in anger and pain.

"I've defeated you. Its over Krysis." Trunks said.

Suddenly reality warped again. All the Z-Fighters as well as Krysis found themselves back in present day, at the crater left from Krysis' first transformation.

Trunks removed his sword from Krysis' body, and the Crimson Tyrant coughed and then fell onto the ground. Krysis suddenly began to change. But this time, his power decreased.

In moments Krysis' body was burnt away by crimson flames, leaving behind Krysis in his orginal teenage-like form, only without his mask.

The red haired youth starred up at Vegeta, Goku, Bardock, Gohan and Trunks as they stood over him.

"Looks like I lost after all." Krysis said weakly.

A wind blew threw the desert at that moment, just as a flock of ravens flew overhead.

"What are you waiting for? Kill me. I killed your loved ones, your wife, your grandchild." Krysis said, looking in Goku's direction.

"Killing you won't bring them back." Goku said with a stern expression on his face.

"Don't be foolish..I wronged you..I deserve any punishment you can dish out." Krysis said weakly.

"All this time fighting you, despite all the darkness and the evil you displayed..I saw another part of you." Goku said.

"Kakorot what are you talking about?" Vegeta asked, then suddenly realized what Goku was talking about.

"Yeah dad, he killed mom and my daughter, he deserves to die." Gohan said with a bit of annoyance in his voice.

"No Gohan. Deep down Krysis was acting the way he did because he felt abandoned and without hope. I believe in redemption. I believe in second chances. Frankly, without redemption, none of us would be here right now." Goku said, reverting to his normal form.

"What..what are you saying?" Krysis asked.

"I'm saying I forgive you." Goku said, the held a hand down.

"You would forgive me? After all I've done?" Krysis asked, disbelief in his voice.

"I would." Goku said with a smile on his face. Krysis could see in Goku's eyes..compassion.

Suddenly an enormious power could be felt overhead. It was similiar somehow to Krysis, but different.

The Z-Fighters turned to see three figures land nearby. All wore body-wrap style pants that reminded Goku, Gohan and Vegeta of the Legendary Super Saiyan, Broly. One of the figures was a tall man with dark straight maroon hair and a similiarly colored beard. He had a broad chest and shoulders, and was well muscled. The second of the figures was a woman. She had silk-like straight yellow hair and was quite beutiful. The third looked like a young man, maybe twenty in human terms. He resembled Krysis greatly, and had dark blue hair. All three looked like warriors, but also like royalty, with the various golden bracelets, earrings and necklaces they wore.

The three walked past a stunned Gohan, Vegeta, Bardock, Goku and Trunks and stood around the fallen Krysis.

The oldest one, with the highest power kneeled next to Krysis. He had tears in his eyes.

"Father..I'm so sorry. All I ever wanted to do was to make you proud. Our people..had given up the old ways. I thought if I could do what no Pariahan had ever done.." Krysis said, tears flowing down his face.

"I keep rising higher and higher..but eventually I flew too high. I did not know when to stop. I could see..but I was blind." Krysis said.

"Say no more my son. I have lost you before, but now that I have found you I don't intend on losing you again." The large man said, lifting Krysis off the ground with one arm.

"Lets go home." The large man said before taking off into the sky, Krysis in his arms.

The tall young man turned towards Goku and smiled.

"You showed mercy to someone who did not deserve it. Why?" The man asked.

"Because I saw the good in him. It would be a greater sin to kill him for the sake of those he killed, than it would be to try to save him." Goku said with a solemn tone.

"My brother's life continues this day because of your righteousness Goku. If only your ancestors were as noble as you..maybe things between our two peoples would have turned out differently." The young man said.

"The Saiyans as a race have much to atone for. I'd know." Bardock said.

"I'd say your off to a great start." The man said as the yellow-haired woman stepped forward.

The woman looked at each of the Z-Fighters.

"Your greatest test lies ahead. When the time comes...we will fight beside you." The woman said.

"Cassios, I think its high-time we joined father and Cetus." The man said.

"Farewell, we will meet again." Cassios said with a smile right before she and her brother took off into the sky.

Goku and the others looked around. It was over.

"All we need to do is find a way to bring back everyone Krysis killed, and this day will end perfectly." Gohan said.

"I'm afraid I won't be there to enjoy it with you." Trunks said.

The others turned towards Trunks, wondering what he meant by that.

"The timeline of Future Trunks as you call him, is gone. The only thing keeping him in existence up until now was that he still had a purpose to serve in the grand scheme of things. Now that that purpose is over..my time..and his time, is over." Perfect Trunks said sadly.

"But Trunks, you can't leave us." Vegeta said sadly.

"I'm sorry father. I must say..it was an honor fighting alongside you." Perfect Trunks said as he split into Trunks and Future Trunks, the later of which continued to speak.

"You don't know how happy it makes me to see what kind of person you have become father. I always saw the part of you others didn't see. Where everyone saw a stubborn, arrogant man, I knew you were an honorable person, even if you would never admit it." Future Trunks said as his body began to become translucent.

"Trunks.." Vegeta said

"Remember when we trained in the room of space and time? How you wanted to train alone? I endured the torture of that training thinking that my father is a great honorable man..no matter what I endured so that you would be proud of me. Seeing you now..I force for good..means that while I must go now..I do so knowing that I freely say Vegeta is a hero..and I am his son." Future Trunks said

Suddenly he was gone. The proud warrior who had fought to free his world from the terror of the androids, the youth who had journeyed back in time to save a world that was not his own, was no more.

Vegeta displayed a side of himself that Goku had only seen once. Tears falled freely from the eyes of the Saiyan Prince as he walked over to Future Trunks last location, and clutched the dirt he was standing on.

Gohan wanted to say something, but Bardock stopped him, placing his hand on his grandson's shoulder.

"Let a grieving father mourn the loss of his son." Bardock said.

The other Trunks regained consciousness and saw his father sitting and weeping nearby.

He walked over, and Vegeta immediately embraced Trunks with a hug.

Trunks knew what had just happened, so he knew exactly why his father was so upset.

In the days that followed, Kohryu had used his powers to restore Pan to life. When asked if she wanted to also return to life, Chi-Chi flatly refused, saying that without her around Goku could finally be freed to do what he really loved: To Fight.

Goku was greatly hurt by this, but realized it was his fault, he for years had paid more attention to his job of hero than he did his own family. Often on purpose in the case of Uub. To be honest, he wasn't sure how long he would remain on Earth either. He had fought many battles and had come far since he first trained under Mr. Roshi. With five levels of Super Saiyan at his command, Goku wasn't sure there was anywhere to go from there. Every time he had gained a level of Super Saiyan, he always felt some vague feeling that there was more hidden deeper inside him. Once he attained Super Saiyan Five, he did not have that feeling.

Perhaps he was at the limits of what he was capable of as a mortal being. If he wanted to get stronger..he would have to become more than just a mortal, he would have to transcend his current existence.

It was this thought, along with the warning the Pariahans had given him at the end of the battle with Krysis, that had prompted him to call Vegeta to an isolated mountain range about two weeks later.

The Saiyan Prince stood with his arms crossed, wearing a black variant of his Buu-Saga outfit.

Some distance away Goku stood, wearing the outfit he had received from Shenron.

"So Vegeta I'm betting your wondering why I called you up here." Goku said with a serious expression on his face.

"No, I think I have a good idea. You can feel it too. We have reached the pinnacle of power we can acheive as mortal Saiyans." Vegeta said without a hint of sarcasm or humor.

"Yes. If there really is another threat on the way, the final challenge as that woman put it, then I don't believe Super Saiyan Five is going to be enough. We must find a way to transcend our current existence Vegeta, even if it means leaving our mortal lives behind forever." Goku said

Vegeta laughed.

"Whats so funny?" Goku asked

"Its so ironic Kakorot. I first came to Earth to find a way to become Immortal. Gradually I decided being immortal wasn't what it was cut out to be, with a family and all. But now becoming an immortal may be the only way to transcend super saiyan five and save the universe from some upcoming threat." Vegeta said with a smirk.

"It is ironic. But I wouldn't have called you up here if there wasn't a very good reason for me to believe otherwise." Goku said.

"So how do you propose we transcend Super Saiyan Five and our mortality?" Vegeta asked.

"Actually I thought that since this is maybe our last chance to get that rematch in Vegeta, how about we go afew rounds at maximum power?" Goku asked with a smile on his face.

"I'd thought you'd never ask Kakorot." Vegeta said with a smirk.

As one Vegeta and Goku transformed, powering up to their most powerful forms.

With two Super Saiyan Fives standing opposite each other, lightning dancing in the darkened sky, and the mountain range shaking from the power the two gave off, the stage was set.

Vegeta leapt at Goku with a roar. He had waited years for this moment, and finally it had arrived. Once and for all this battle would prove who the superior fighter was.

On another side of the planet, Bardock sat inside a bar. He wore his usual Saiyan armor. Any human punks in the bar that tried to start trouble were sent into unconsciousness by the father of Goku, often with one punch.

"So Mr. Bardock, another round?" The barkeeper asked. The man was an older man, with a black mustache and middle-aged features. The man wore a partial suit.

"Anything to keep out these visions." Bardock said

Bardock drank the mug of beer that was handed to him, hoping it would block the nightmarish images that had plagued him since the battle with Krysis had ended.

As he drank from the mug, his vision blurred, but not from drunkeness, Bardock's limit wasn't even close to being reached.

Suddenly Bardock floated down a tunnel composed of dark black mist, swirling around a distant object. As Bardock got closer to the object he realized what it was.

He floated in front of a collosal door. On either side of the door giant skeletal demons held the door closed. The door itself looked like it was made from the bones of thousands, perhaps even millions of humans.

With a feeling of dread Bardock remembered the words of Azrael...

"_When you come before the door..you will open it. That is the only request I ask of you in exchange for my assistance." _

"Oh no.." Bardock said as he floated over to the golden ring that lay flat against the surface of the door.

Try all he could Bardock could not fight the urge to open the door, even as he realized what it would mean if he did.

Bardock had been a fool. In his desire to make a difference against Krysis, he had made a deal with the devil himself. He was just too blind to realize it at the time.

By opening this door..he would unleash things far worse than a petty tyrant on all existence. And there was nothing he could do to stop himself from opening the door.

Bardock pulled the golden ring with all his might, transforming into a Super Saiyan Three just to be able to hold the ring. After struggling for what seemed like an eternity, the door began to open.

Once it was open, Bardock expected a horde of demons to burst out, but no such thing happened. Instead, before he started to fade back to reality all Bardock heard was a voice.

It was a voice older than time, full of wisdom and malice.

"Death is the only absolute."


End file.
